


Best Served Cold

by Hecallsmehischild



Series: Thicker Than Water [1]
Category: Ghost - Mystery Skulls (Music Video), Mystery Skulls (Band)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-17
Updated: 2015-12-17
Packaged: 2018-05-07 05:32:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 26
Words: 35,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5445068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hecallsmehischild/pseuds/Hecallsmehischild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thicker Than Water tale #1. A Ghost-Mystery Skulls fanfic. Following the escape from the mansion, Arthur is a wreck. He's convinced that Lewis is coming for him any day. Worse, he knows he deserves it. But Vivi and Mystery refuse to give up on him, and Vivi keeps prying as to why he won't leave his house. Sooner or later, something has to give.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Plumbing The Depths

**Author's Note:**

> Story is complete. Series is complete. I will be uploading as I have energy, several chapters at a time.

"Hey Squire, don't make me drag you out."

Arthur didn't move toward the front door. He could hear Vivi trying to pick the lock, and it almost made him laugh. Vivi was good at many things, but breaking and entering was not one of them.

Mystery sat in front of him, staring him right in the eyes, something nearing a frown on his face. It had been three days since they'd escaped the mansion. Arthur hadn't budged from the chair in his living room, and Mystery hadn't moved from his post in front of Arthur.

Mystery scooted closer and whined, scratching the floor by Arthur's feet as he did on occasion. This time, Arthur responded.

"No buddy," his voice was scratchy from thirst and disuse. "There's no point. I'll just wait here, yeah? Wait for… you know."

Mystery's frown intensified, and a low growl escaped him.

"I don't care what you think. Go look after Vivi for a change. It's not like you're contracted to me. I don't even know why you stick around, you obviously don't need anybody."

"Squire! If you don't open the door I'm telling the police you died so they'll kick your door down!"

Arthur snorted. Maybe it would be true by the time the police came by. A thin giggle shook his chest. Wouldn't that be funny?

He felt a tug on his shoulder and glanced down. Mystery had taken his mechanical arm by the wrist and was pulling toward the door. Arthur braced his feet, pulling back, but he hadn't eaten in three days and Mystery wasn't as small as he appeared. Arthur slammed the release button on his shoulder, sending Mystery flying across the room with his arm. "Go bury it in the yard or something, and leave me alone."

Mystery sprang back to his feet, snarling. He darted across the room and grabbed Arthur by his other wrist, biting down just hard enough for Arthur to yelp and stumble to his feet.

"Arthur!" A loud bang hit the front door, followed by a pained yelp. "Mother of fudgmonkeys, your door is hard!"

He was in big trouble if she wasn't using his nickname. But he didn't care. "Go away Vivi!" He shouted, trying to get his good arm back from Mystery without losing it as the dog slowly dragged him toward the front door.

"So you ARE there! So help me Arthur I will break your door glass to get in if you don't open up! I've already banged up the wood, and I'll have a bruise on my shoulder by morning to boot." She grunted. "I have a rock, and I will use it on your window, so open up!"

Mystery released his wrist, the corner of his lip lifting in a grin. Arthur scowled. "You haven't won, so wipe that grin off your face. I'll just tell her to scram, and that'll be all."

Mystery nodded his head, solemnly wiping the grin off his face, but his eyes twinkled.

Disgusted, Arthur flipped the deadbolt open and unlocked the knob, swinging the door open.

He was nearly clocked in the face by Vivi as she checked herself last minute, flailing and dropping the rock she'd been about to smash through the door-glass.

"Squire!" She darted forward, wrapping her arms around him. "You knucklehead, why didn't you answer your phone or come to the door? I've been trying to get ahold of you for the last two days, do you have any idea how worried I've been?"

He opened his mouth to send her away, when she pulled back, eyes widening. "Arthur, what the heckmonger? You look terrible! What are these, shopping bags?" She poked at his eye. "And where's your arm?"

She spun him around, marching him back inside. "You're in the same clothes from three days ago! Do you understand the concept of hygiene? Get yourself in the shower. Don't open that mouth, you don't get to speak until you've showered and changed, now _get_."

To his dismay, Arthur found himself marched back to the bathroom and shut inside. He could almost swear he heard Mystery's barking laugh on the other side of the door.

His shoulders slumped as he stripped and climbed into the shower, turning the water on mechanically.

_What's the point? At this point, I'm a dead man walking._


	2. Twisting His Arm

Wrapped only in a towel, Arthur had managed to slide down the hall to his room after the shower. He pulled on some sweats and a grungy looking T-shirt, then sniffed the latter and discarded it. He didn't care at the moment, but it would give Vivi another reason to stay longer. He grabbed a clean tank and pulled it on, then shuffled out of his room.

Mystery met him in the hall, the robotic arm clamped between his teeth and an apologetic grimace.

Arthur walked past him, ignoring the arm, and headed for the living room. "Fine, Vivi, I showered, now please go home."

"Kitchen!" she sang out.

"You've gotta be kidding me," he moaned, "She'd better not be…" He walked into the kitchen, his senses assaulted by the glorious smell of bacon frying, pancakes flipping, and syrup dripping.

"A lot of stuff went bad in your fridge so you'd better take the trash out, but there's plenty of pancake mix, and a few good eggs!" She grinned, setting a heaping platter of food on the table. "There ya go." She pulled out a chair for him.

"I'm fine Vivi." He shoved the chair back in place. "I don't need you to cook for me, I'm eating fine."

"Don't lie to me Arthur!" Her sharp tone snapped his head around. Her mouth was a thin line. "I don't know what it is about that mansion that rattled you so hard, but you vanished right afterward. And when I find you, you're in the same clothes? No shower? I bet you didn't eat either." She jerked the chair out again, hard. "I'm not interested in shrinking our group again. So you eat that. _All of it._ " She plopped down in the chair across from him. "Not leaving 'til you do."

Arthur sighed, easing into the chair. Next time he'd call the police on _her_ for trying to break his door down.

That wasn't fair. She was just trying to hold him together. He lifted a forkful of egg to his mouth.

_She wouldn't if she knew._

The fork clattered to the plate, his eyes fixed on the food. He felt like vomiting, and if he'd had anything in his stomach, he would have.

"Oh Squire," She scooted her chair around, grabbing his hand. It was shaking. "Squire please, I don't know what's going on. We've been on a hundred ghost busts and mystery tours before, why's this one sticking with you so hard?"

Squire. The nickname he'd never outgrow like she promised in high school. _"Someday you'll be grand and brave,, like King Arthur, but for now you're still a squire. It's ok, everyone starts somewhere. But you'll get there someday."_

No king, or even knight, would act so shamefully.

He could feel a throb pounding dully in his head. He closed his eyes, feeling the strength drain out of him as he tilted to the side. Was it three days she'd said? It felt like longer…

"Squire!" She caught him, struggling to sit him back up. "Please, you have to eat something. I'll call 9-1-1, I will!"

"Viv I can't." He choked, "Just looking at it's making me sick."

She managed to prop him back up, watching anxiously. "Well it's not my cooking, you never turn down food. Oh Arthur please, what's going on?"

"Nothing, please. Just go away."

There was silence for a minute, then her chair scraped back and her footsteps moved off into the living room. He sighed in relief. Maybe she was leaving.

"Yeah, I'd like to report my friend. Looks like he hasn't eaten in three days, and for him that qualifies as a suicide attempt."

His eyes snapped open. She was actually calling them.

"Don't laugh at me mister, he's not in his right mind. Are you going to send someone if I give you an address?"

He staggered to his feet. "Viv, don't!"

She spun on her heel, pointing silently at the plate on the table.

Defeated, he sagged back into the chair, picking up a slice of bacon and forcing himself to chew and swallow.

"Looks like he's suddenly coming to his senses. Thanks for your help, I might have to call again." She flipped her phone shut and rejoined him at the table. "I want to see at least half of that plate gone, got it?"

"Five bites." He muttered.

"A quarter, take it or leave it."

"Fine." He shoveled a forkful of sticky sweet pancake into his mouth. "If you'll go away."

At her silence, he turned his face toward her. "Tell me you're leaving, Vivi."

She stared back at him. "I make no such promise Arthur. You're scaring the bejeebles out of me. This isn't you, and I miss my best friend."

A paw settled on his leg, and he could hear Mystery's muffled whine. The mutt must still be toting his arm around.

Wordlessly he took his arm from Mystery and clicked it back into place. "I'm fine Vivi," His voice rang hollow, and he tried to infuse it with more life. "Really. I just saw some things, and I have to sort it out."

"So, sort it out. What did you see?"

"I don't want to talk about it!" He snapped, his real arm trembling. He forced his voice to sound calm. "It's something I have to deal with myself."

He could feel her eyes on him, measuring his response. "Promise me you'll really deal with it Squire." She said quietly. "You gotta promise me that much. I can't handle another funeral."

He flinched, gulping in air like she'd sucker-punched him in the gut. She _never_ talked about _that_.

"Please Squire." She took his hand gently. "You and Mystery are all I got left."

His head bowed. She was right. He owed it to her to try. She didn't deserve to go through that again.

"Okay Viv." He whispered. "I promise."


	3. Delivering The Threat

Arthur heaved a deep sigh, sliding the deadbolt back into place. He rested his forehead against the wood. Vivi had coaxed a third of a plate into his stomach before he'd told her he couldn't take anymore. She'd wrapped the wrest up for him in Tupperware, telling him she'd better not see it in his fridge the next time she was over.

"Viv, just gimme a few days, ok?" He'd pleaded. "I promise I'll do better. Really."

He'd finally gotten her to promise him two days' space before she came to check on him again. Two days to pull himself back together.

"How am I supposed to do that, Mystery? I barely managed the first time…"

He felt his robot arm swing as Mystery nudged it hard. He cradled the metallic limb with his real arm, running his fingers over the joints. Mystery was right, working on his own prosthetic had held him together in the weeks after…

He shoved the memory out of his mind. He couldn't think about it anymore. He'd spent the past three days wallowing in it, and he couldn't do this to Vivi.

_You know he's coming for you. It's why you gave up in the first place._

His metal fist clenched. Fine. If Lewis wanted to come for him, he could, but until he did, Arthur was going to carry on like everything was normal.

"That's a laugh," he muttered. "I barely got out of my chair and I'm already thinking about normal. I'll settle for functional. Meet me in the workshop, Mystery."

With a grin, the dog bounded off down the hall, leaping into the back room. Arthur followed, pressing the palm of his hand into his right eye to stop the dull throb as he shuffled along down the hall and entered.

Wires and circuits lay scattered about, and metal shavings were everywhere, and Arthur slipped on his rubber shoes before getting in too deep. Screws and motherboards, tiny flame welders and pliers of all sizes lay scattered about, intermixed with other tools and technological bric-a-brac. It was a mess, but he knew where every part and piece was by heart. This room, more than anything else, had saved his sanity in those dark days.

Maybe it was time to invent something again. It had been his passion all through highschool, and whenever he wasn't out with the gang investigating ghosts. Vivi had been needling him about an ectoplasm detector for awhile, and the van could use some upgrades. Maybe he could figure out a way to wire Mystery's head up so that his thoughts displayed on his forehead, that would be useful.

A low growl sounded in front of him, and he looked up sheepishly. "I didn't mean it, but even if I did it wouldn't… hurt…"

Mystery's hackles were raised, the fur on his back standing on end. In the middle of the floor was a spot that was perfectly clear of any debris, save for a book. Arthur's stomach sank. There wasn't a single spot in his workshop that was clear like that, and he didn't keep any book that looked like that.

Inching over, he peered at the cover, before lurching back, moaning.

It was a beautiful black leather edition of Edgar Allen Poe. The cover was inscribed with gold leaf letters, swooping in accusing cursive letters that spelled, "The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Stories."

Arthur knew for a fact that he did not own this book, nor had he checked it out of the library since high school English, and even then it was a crappy paperback edition with dog-eared pages and the last student's handwritten notes. Not this elegant collector's edition staring up at him in baleful accusation.

He'd always been uneasy reading Poe. Vivi had eaten it up, extrapolating on all the details of the murders and what reasons kept the ghosts around, while Lewis argued that it was likelier everything was in the mind of the guilty party and that nothing supernatural was going on. He himself would have preferred writing reports on Springer's Handbook of Robotics, but the teacher compromised with him on Isaac Asimov's works.

He would never own a copy of this book. But he recalled its contents all too well.

He sank to the floor slowly, eyes screwed shut, a small whimper escaping his throat. "Mystery… why bother? Even if I don't give up, Vivi's still going to have to sit through another funeral and you know it. He'll get me. He'll make me pay, and by the end I'll be as dead as him."

He felt Mystery's paws land heavily on his knees. The dog pressed his nose to Lewis' forehead, silently holding it there.

"Why didn't you just kill me that day?" He whispered. "You should have just finished it."

A soft, reprimanding bark was his answer.

"It doesn't matter if it wasn't actually me. You know why it got in, don't you? You know how it was able to take control." He pulled his knees in tight to his chest. "Which means it _was_ my fault."

The throbbing behind his eyes pounded harder as he pressed his face into his knees. He must not have eaten enough. Maybe he'd go back and eat his leftovers, if for no other reason than to get rid of this headache. He was in no shape to work on anything today.

Standing unsteadily, he shuffled out of the workshop again, accompanied by a four-step patter close behind. As he pulled into the kitchen, he pulled up short, blood running cold.

There, sitting at the very table he'd just eaten on, was a well dressed skeleton, with a swath of glowing purple hair, and eyes that bored into him with a cold, unearthly hatred.

It lifted a hand, pointing a bony finger straight at Arthur, just like before. But this time, he heard Lewis' voice echoing through the room.

_One week._

And then, just like that, it vanished.

The last thing Arthur remembered was seeing the ceiling and walls careen by as his knees gave way, pitching him headlong toward the floor. His head cracked against the floor, and he slipped into blissful unconsciousness.


	4. Day One: Acceptance

Arthur's eyes squinted open. Mystery was pacing the wall in front of him, back and forth over and over.

Not the wall. He pushed himself up from the floor. Mystery was pacing the floor now. Perspective could do wonders for perception. The dog turned, barking at him, ears swiveling forward, tail straight and stiff with anxiety.

_One week._

Oh. That's why he was on the floor. And if Mystery was worked up, then he hadn't been hallucinating. Glancing over at the table only confirmed the dread building in his chest. Two skeletal handprints burned into the tabletop.

"Well," he said hollowly, "That's that then. One week. What am I supposed to do with one week?"

Mystery shook his head, barking angrily.

"You can't save me from everything buddy." _Especially not from things I deserve._ He stood to his feet, turning to approach the fridge. He opened it, perusing the contents. He pulled out the Tupperware from Vivi's earlier intrusion. "No sense being half starved when he comes for me. He'll probably want some sport or something." The Tupperware was trembling. Why was it trembling? "Some payback. Make me squirm before he ends it." He wasn't holding it anymore, it was on the floor, its contents spilled on the ground. "I wonder what ghosts do when they get the person they hate most in their power." His chest felt like it was going to explode, and his breathing came in erratic gasps.

Pain flashed up his ankle, snapping him out of his panic. Mystery loosened his jaws, removing his mouth from Arthur's ankle, and grabbed his pant leg, pulling. Arthur let the dog lead him into the living room. Mystery hopped up onto the recliner where Arthur had spent the past three days sitting, and thrust a paw at a framed photo that stood on the nearby end table.

In between sleeping, wallowing in self pity, and locking stares with his dog, Arthur had studied the photo. The frame had been a gift from Vivi, and the photo from Lewis. It was one of those stupid photo-booth selfies the four of them had taken. Lewis had blown the goofiest one up large enough to fit a frame, and they'd given it to him as a combined graduation present, right before they started their group. Currently, Mystery's paw was pressed squarely in the middle of Vivi's face.

"No buddy, there's no way I'm telling her what happened."

Mystery growled, pushing his paw at the photo again, once at Vivi, once at Lewis.

"She can't help me with Lewis because I can't tell her what happened!"

Mystery let loose a barrage of frustrated sounds, barking intermixed with higher yaps and ki-ki-ki sounds that Arthur was fairly certain most dogs couldn't make.

"I don't care if you don't like it!" Arthur shouted back. "You're not the one who screwed up, alright? You didn't kill your best friend! If all you're going to do is bite me and shout things I can't understand, then you should go stay with Vivi for a week. Come back and build a nest or a den or whatever when I'm not here anymore!"

Mystery fell silent, ears drooping. His head bowed, and Arthur immediately regretted his anger.

"I'm sorry." He sat on the floor in front of the chair, fingers tracing the scratch marks on the hardwood. "I don't know what to do. And I almost don't want figure a way out. He's got every right, and you know it." He could feel the shame, hot and leaden in his gut.

Mystery hopped off the chair, pushing himself under Arthur's arm and pressing tightly against his side. Arthur gathered the dog close, cradling him to his chest. "I don't know why you picked me to look after buddy," he whispered, "And I really do appreciate you trying. But this isn't your deal. I gotta face him. Maybe if he kills me he'll be able to rest. Maybe I can do that much for him."

The dog whined a thin protest, burying his face in Arthur's chest and pawing at him. He sighed. "Look… think of it this way, I've only got a week left, right?" Even as he spoke the words, a little of the heaviness slipped away. "If I've got a week left, then I have to make the most of it. So what say we go spend some time with Vivi chowing at the diner and planning one last ghost bust?"

Mystery's head dipped in reluctant agreement. Arthur scratched him just under his left ear. "Knew I could count on you. We can sort out the rest later in the week. For now, let's just forget about this for a couple of days, okay? Can we do that?"

Again the dog's head dipped, slowly.

"That's my boy." Arthur ruffled the top of Mystery's head. The dog hopped off his lap as he stood, stretching. A visit to Vivi would mean actually getting dressed, not his household sweats and tank. It was odd how much lighter he felt, now that his fate was cemented. He didn't have to worry about it so much, or feel guilty over something he would be able to do penance for.

He was almost looking forward to the ghost bust. Maybe he could whip up that ectoplasm detector Vivi wanted so badly, it would only take him a few hours at this rate. The gears were already churning on how to make it work, and he could make it match her hair too. He chuckled on his way back to the workshop. Having a death sentence wasn't as bad as people made it out to be.


	5. Day Two: Denial

Arthur knocked on Vivi's apartment door at the crack of dawn the next day, tailed by his ever-present four-footed shadow. He was twitching from the four cups of coffee he'd downed the night before, but it was worth it. He could hardly wait to see the look on Vivi's face. He knew she'd love it.

Vivi opened the door, squinting in the sunlight. She had on a blue mickey mouse nightshirt that reached her feet, a blue terrycloth robe, and fuzzy blue Smurf socks on. Her hair stuck out every which-way, and she blinked sleepily.

"Squire?" She mumbled. "It's 4 am on a Saturday. What the blizzard?"

He laughed. "Keep trying Viv, maybe someday you'll actually crack a legit swear word."

Her eyes widened. "Squire… you're laughing. And you're joking about me." She came alert, pressing a hand to his forehead. "Are you okay? It's like yesterday didn't happen."

Arthur removed her hand, grinning. "As far as I'm concerned, the last four days didn't happen. Time's a-wasting, we're probably missing out on a dozen hauntings. Look, I even cooked this up for you!" He presented her with a small blue flat screen, lit up on one side with red and green lights.

"Is this that ecto-decteco I've been bugging you for?" She squealed, snatching it excitedly, examining the buttons.

"Yep, state of the art, although it keeps fluctuating whenever I hold it, kinda weird. It still has a few bugs, but I'll fix them. So what do you say we take it for a test run?"

She stood there a moment, the smile fading from her face. "Actually Squire, I was wondering if we could talk. Or, if you didn't want to, could you listen to me for a bit?"

Arthur shifted, suddenly concerned. Vivi _never_ turned down a ghost hunt, and usually Arthur was the last person to volunteer one, so she should have been half-way to the van by now.

"Sure Vivi. Um…" He gestured to her robe. "Need to change?"

She glanced down. "Nah, not going anywhere. C'mon in, I'll make you breakfast."

He entered after her. "Sheesh, you were in a big hurry to get me to change when you came over."

She stuck her tongue out at him, heading for the kitchen. "I showered last night. I could smell you through the door yesterday. Hash browns and ham ok?"

"Sounds good." He pulled a stool up to her breakfast counter, eyes following her as she bustled about, pulling food together. Mystery lay down under the breakfast bar's overhang, sullen.

"So, what's on your mind that's so big it bumps ghost hunting?" He asked.

She said nothing for awhile, setting coffee to brew and spooning out grated potatoes into a frying pan. The oil sizzled, and the smell of cooking potatoes made his mouth water. He'd forgotten to eat in his enthusiasm the night before...

"Squire, did you see what happened to Lewis?"

His stomach lurched, and he gagged on the shock. "Wh… what?"

She kept her back to him, absently poking at the hashbrowns. "I just… I can't remember. I know I was there. I know I saw something. But I can't remember it."

He swallowed hard, measuring his words carefully. "Viv, you know… the doctors said… I mean, you came out of there in total shock. You didn't talk. You didn't move unless I pulled you. Whatever you saw, you probably blocked it out… why are you asking me? And why now?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry Squire. It's just been bothering me for a few days now."

Arthur felt his gut sinking again.

"Ever since the mansion, the blank spot keeps showing up. Like I'm missing something really important, but my brain's afraid to let me see it still. I was just hoping maybe if I can hear what you saw again, maybe it'll trigger something." She flipped one and continued. "I'd ask Mystery, but he doesn't talk."

Arthur didn't dare look down at Mystery now. Vivi set a mug of coffee in front of him before turning to lay out some cold ham slices. Arthur sipped his coffee slowly, trying to piece together the last time he'd told this story, close to a year ago.

"Where'd you leave off again?" He stalled, knowing exactly where her memory stopped.

"We got split up in that spooky cave, I was alone, and I was going through a long tunnel. At the end of it, I came into a cave full of stalagmites. The next thing I remember is the Doctor shining a light in my eyes, and you were in the bed next to me, white as a sheet and missing an arm. Mystery had blood on his muzzle. They said Lewis was dead, that they were putting his body in the morgue. I don't remember what happened."

He flinched, a hand going up to his shoulder and massaging it. "Yeah. Well, we all took different paths. You went down, Lewis and I took the other path. It split again later on, and we divided up to see where the paths lead. I wound up a lot higher up, overlooking the cave from the top with Mystery. He saved my life you know," the lie came easier as he recalled the scenario he'd woven for the police, and later Vivi. "I almost fell off the edge, but Mystery dragged me back by my left arm. He was really forceful though, and later they couldn't save my arm. I looked over the edge and saw Lewis falling from a cliff lower down… he didn't have someone to stop him."

He set the mug down, staring into it. "If I was on top, and he was in the middle, we can only guess you were at the bottom from what you say. You… you must have seen him hit…"

His words died away at the sound of a sniff. He didn't lift his head. He couldn't. He wasn't hungry again, the lies sitting in his mouth like vomit. His voice was barely a whisper as he concluded with the only truthful part of the story. "I wonder all the time if it would have been different if Mystery was looking after Lewis and not me. Sometimes I wish that's what happened."

"Don't say that Arthur, don't you dare say that." He heard her sniff hard once, undoubtedly wiping her nose all along her terrycloth sleeve. "What happened happened. It can't be changed, and I don't want to think about who I'd rather have alive because there's no way I could choose."

 _Not with my version you couldn't._ He pushed his mug aside. It was a mistake coming here, he should leave before he messed up Vivi's day for good. He was just about to stand when a plate landed in front of him.

"I'm sorry, I know you don't like talking about it either," she said softly, "I just don't know why it's bothering me lately. Like I have to know what I saw, even if it was…" The hand on his plate was not steady. "I just need to know."

Arthur stared down at the plate, then forced himself to look up. Vivi's glistening eyes were almost more than he could handle, and he leaped out of his seat. "Vivi, I'm really sorry, but I worked all night on the ecto-detector and I'm really shot. I was kind of running on fumes when I got here, can I take that to go?" He asked, knowing he wouldn't be allowed to leave without her food.

Surprised, she swallowed her emotions, nodding. She scraped the dish off into a Tupperware container and handed it over. "Here, I put an extra couple of ham slices in for Mystery." She bent down, scratching the dog's head and nuzzling his nose. "Come by tomorrow, ok? Maybe I'll be ready to head out again."

"Yeah, tomorrow." Arthur was already backing toward the door. "I'll get some sleep and be ready, thanks for breakfast Vivi. Enjoy the detector." He fumbled with the knob, making a hasty escape.

Sleep. That sounded fantastic right about now. Maybe he could sleep and forget everything. Maybe he could sleep for the rest of the week and shut the whole world out. That sounded just about right…


	6. Day Three: Anger

Something was pounding in the distance. Arthur squinted, peering out from under his covers. Was it his head? The headache had returned as he lay down, resting just behind his eyes and at the base of his neck.

No, it wasn't as rhythmic as the throbbing, it came in bursts of three or four, and someone was yelling. He burrowed back under the covers. To his chagrin, he felt them sliding off his body, leaving him shivering in the cold. "Mystery, what gives?"

The cold sharpened his senses, allowing him to finally make out Vivi's voice yelling from the front door.

The ghost hunt. Did he sleep into the next day?

Of course he did. Every time he'd woken up he'd just rolled over again, refusing to get up until sleep reclaimed him. But Vivi was banging on the door now, and he wasn't ready! He stumbled out of bed, shouting, "Hold on Vivi gimme ten minutes!" He tripped over a pile of dirty clothes, landing on his face. Scrambling back to his feet, he checked himself. Smell? Not bad. Clothes? Rumpled from sleeping in them, but he could leave in this state. But his equipment!

He darted to the front door, yanking it open. "Sorry Viv I AUGH!" He put up a hand to block the glare of the sun. "Sorry I overslept, come on in, I'll be ready in ten." He darted back to the hall closet without waiting for a response, swinging it wide to reveal the more mobile tech. He grabbed motion detectors, thermometers, walkie talkies, a compass, and kept grabbing, loading up his arms.

"Hey Squire, I know this one was your idea, but I just wanna make sure you're really up for another round? It's been a little weird the last few da—"

"Of course I'm sure," he interrupted, shoving a digital recorder in his pocket. All the serious setup stuff was already in the van, but he firmly believed it never hurt to split up the tech. That way, in case his home or his van suffered a break in, he'd at least have SOMETHING to work with until he could replace things. "Really Vivi, it's like you've never seen me oversleep or something."

She snorted, and he could just picture the silly grin on her face, prompting one on his own before he'd even turned around.

"Yeah, Lewis used to complain he could hardly wake you short of a sledgehammer to the face. Or a handful of bacon under the nose."

Arthur paused for a moment, teetering between two emotions. He could feel the choice. He could slide down into despair again, hearing about Lewis, or he could reminisce awhile with Vivi.

It would probably be the last time in a long time, and Lewis had been his best friend once.

Forcing a smile, he nodded in acknowledgement. "Yeah. Well it was better than his first couple attempts, hitting me on the head with heavy books or dumping water on me. Couldn't wake me with the first one. Got serious payback over the second."

"Oh? This I didn't hear about, what'd you do?" She grinned as they headed out to the van with Mystery and an armload of equipment.

"I hid a traveling alarm in his room that alternated between _Everything is Awesome_ and _Let It Go_. It took him two days to find it, and he never pulled that again."

Vivi burst out laughing, and the sound warmed him a little. Had it really only been a few days since the mansion? It felt like an eternity had passed since everything shifted away from normal. He clambered into the driver's seat, Mystery hopping over his lap to settle firmly in the middle, and Vivi sliding into the passenger's seat.

"Why'd he hate those songs anyway? I mean, maybe _Everything is Awesome_ , but he's a music guy, he should know _Let It Go_ is a masterpiece."

"He called them 'Overplayed.' Got a location for us, Navigator?" He adjusted his mirror out of habit. Lewis had usually driven, and even after a year Arthur was still adjusting the mirror that no longer changed position to accommodate someone else's height.

"Yeah, there was a bunch of tweets the other night about the old Mundocani place at the edge of town acting up again."

Arthur groaned. "Again? That's like the fifth time this year, that place is a magnet. Gotta be some kind of ghost pit-stop on the way to their final rest or something."

"Yeah well pit-stop or not, a lotta freaky stuff going on according to hotdogbreath56 and juniperleaves83."

"Oh, well with usernames like that they're bound to be super reliable." He rolled his eyes. "But we'll check it out. Got any backup locations in case we turn up empty?"

"A few, but let's start here."

"What kind of freaky stuff were they talking about?" Arthur pulled out, heading for the edge of town.

"Well, it was a group of highschoolers messing around and having a mini-party. They said the stereo kept changing songs, and that there was a weird fog in the house. One of them reported hearing the words, 'Not you. Get out,' whispered in his ear. He was pretty freaked out. Oh hey, check out his profile pic," she pulled it up on her phone, flashing it just to the side of Arthur's vision. "Do you have a twin or something you forgot to tell me about?" She joked.

Arthur glanced at the image, then swerved, nearly plowing into a line of parked cars.

"Mother of Juniper Arthur, are you trying to get us killed?" Vivi shouted, clinging to the dashboard.

"Sorry!" He straightened out his driving, knuckles flashing white. "But don't distract me like that," He could feel the words leaving his mouth automatically, but his mind was already churning. Vivi was right, that profile pic looked almost exactly like him. And this kid had heard, 'Not you. Get out.' A weird fog? "What color was the fog?"

"They said it was pink."

Arthur felt bile rising in his throat. They were less than five minutes away from the place. "What songs kept popping up on the radio?" He choked.

"Well you know that new song that's been everywhere the last few months by that band?"

Arthur knew the one. His stomach dropped out.

"I swear the first time I heard it, I thought they were saying, 'This is the majesty's appearing,' in the chorus." Vivi laughed.

"This time I might just disappear." Arthur whispered. He hit the brakes as hard as he could, the van screeching to a halt in the middle of the street. The car behind him blared its horn, swerving around him as the driver flashed a rude sign, but Arthur paid him no mind.

"Arthur I swear to goth I'm going to take over driving if you don't knock it off right now! You're going to get us all killed!"

"What's the next haunt on your list?" Arthur stared straight ahead, gripping the wheel like it would fly away any second.

"What? No, we're going to the Mundocani house, remember?"

"Sounds boring, what's the next house?"

"Arthur what the fickle finger? Get your head on straight! You can't go on a ghost hunt wound up like this."

"Vivi," his words were clipped and hard, "Tell me the next house, or I'm going straight back to my place."

The silence stretched out like silly string. He could feel two sets of eyes boring into him, but he didn't care. He had four more days, and he was not going any sooner than he had to.

"Arthur," Vivi began, and he could hear a lecture coming on.

"Damn it Vivi!" Arthur shouted, hitting the wheel. "I just wanted today to be a good day, a fun day, why do you have to push this one? Why can't you just tell me where the next house is? Is that so hard?"

Again, silence. Then he heard the sound of a seatbelt unbuckling, and the door swinging open. Mystery lifted from the middle seat. "I'm walking home. You can come over when you're ready to apologize for yelling at me." She slammed the door, and called through the window, "I'm borrowing Mystery. I'll send him back over later."

He dropped his forehead to the steering wheel, the van making a long, drawn-out, mournful honk. He could feel the despair creeping up on him again. He'd just wanted a few days free of it… but it looked like that was no longer an option, as new accusations began to surface.

_You ruined her fun too._

_You made this all about you._

_Her last memories of you are going to be like this now._

He turned the van around. No sense trying to get her back in the car. When Vivi made up her mind, it stayed solid. It was one of the things he'd always admired about her. She was blunt, she was honest, and she was clear about how she felt.

She would never have let _that_ happen to her.

He headed back for his house. His first instinct had been right. He just needed to bury himself in his home and wait for the end of the week. That way nobody else's life would be ruined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, Vivi's mishearing is exactly what I thought the song was saying before I looked up the lyrics. Also wut? Me putting a reference to a character from my favorite book of all time into this chapter? Don't be silly…


	7. Isolation

Arthur walked through his front door and shut it behind him, locking it securely. Everything felt dark and numb, and he wondered vaguely if someone touched him, would he fly apart into a million pieces?

He sank into his seat. He should have just stayed there, and this time he would. Vivi would wait until he came to apologize, so she wouldn't be banging on his door. He should apologize… but he wasn't going to have her anywhere near when Lewis came for him. She'd jumped in the path of the raging ghost last time, and if Lewis hadn't pulled up short…

He would write her a letter. He pulled a pen out of his pocket, idly scrawling on his end table. He wouldn't be needing it much longer anyway.

_Vivi, sorry I shouted at you. I killed Lewis, now he's coming for me. He gave me one week. I didn't want to go any sooner than I had to. But maybe I should. I don't know. I just know I'm sorry. Keep ghost hunting Viv, I know it makes you happy. Maybe it'll help you. And keep Mystery, he'll take good care of you. He's stronger than he looks. I love-_

Arthur threw the pen across the room, furious. No. He went after it, retrieving it and scribbling out the last two words furiously, leaving a large black scribble all over the bottom of the note. How could he have let that, even for a second and even alone, slip out? He stabbed the wood viciously.

"That's WHY!" He shouted at the empty house, enraged at himself. "You couldn't just LET IT BE. You had to go change things, and then feel sorry for yourself, and think things you had no business thinking, and THAT'S WHY IT GOT IN." He flung the pen again, burying his face in his hands. He whispered between his fingers, "That's why your best friend is dead and trying to kill you."

He wasn't sure how long he stayed like that. Maybe, he thought, if he sat there long enough he could turn into stone. That would be preferable. Stone didn't feel like this.

Stone also didn't have a headache slamming at the base of its skull over and over. He grimaced, groping for the drawer of the end table where he kept the aspirin. His neck jerked slightly, his head twitching with the pounding of the headache. The light from the windows had faded, he must have sat through most of the morning and afternoon. He grabbed the aspirin as his eyes fell on the floor in front of him.

His pen had been sliced lengthwise neatly in half and laid at his feet. Its chamber was completely empty of ink. Said ink had been smeared all over the floor at his feet, and written in the smear were the words, "Four Days, Traitor."

He stared at the words blankly, frozen.

That is, until the music started.

He sucked in a breath, having forgotten to breathe since he'd seen the message. But he could hear the music, the song playing faintly somewhere in his house.

_Cause the world might do me in. It's alright cause I'm with friends._

He shot to his feet, the words searing his mind like a brand, and propelled himself toward the source of the sound. It grew louder as he neared his bedroom, but then as he flung the door open, the position of the sound changed. Now it was behind him, moving into the hall. He spun around, charging back the way he'd come.

_Cause I'm giving up again, it doesn't matter._

"STOP!" He shrieked, bursting back into the living room, but now it was coming from the kitchen. "LEWIS!" He dived for the kitchen, but now it was coming from the bathroom, and it was getting louder. His neck twitched again, jerking in time to the pounding in his head.

_And I'm feeling like a ghost. And it's what I hate the most._

Arthur sank to his knees in the middle of the kitchen, digging his fingers into his hair and rocking. He opened his mouth to scream accusations, but every last one turned around in his mind and pierced right back through him. He had no right to accuse Lewis, Lewis wasn't the one who had killed.

_Guess I'm giving up again, and this time, this time, this time._

The song grew louder and louder, and as he looked up, he could see a glimpse of gray plastic rolling down the hall. The traveling alarm clock pulled to a stop in front of him, blaring the chorus mockingly.

_This time I might just disappear._

He screamed, grabbing the clock and slamming it against the floor over and over. The casing cracked, springs and gears spilling out. He continued beating it against the ground, switching to his metal hand as it burst apart, and the song died away.

A low whine sounded, and he whirled on it, fist raised. Mystery stood there, crouched cautiously, as if approaching a dangerous animal. He barked once, softly.

"How… how'd you get in…"

Mystery jerked his head at something out of Arthur's view. He scooted forward til he got a view of the living room, where one of his windows was broken, glass scattered all over the ground. How had he not heard that.

He glanced back at Mystery, still crouched defensively, and realized his fist was still up in the air. Slowly, he lowered it, and as he did something in his chest broke. He tilted back his head and wailed. He felt Mystery leap into his lap, pressing against his chest. He wrapped his arms around the dog and buried his face in soft fur, sobbing helplessly.

"Coward," he sobbed, trying to explain himself to Mystery. He wanted to be able to face Lewis bravely and accept his punishment. He wanted Lewis to understand how sorry he was without flinching from the consequences. He wanted to be able to set Lewis at peace by all this. But the only word he could squeeze out was his own self-accusation. "Coward. Coward, coward, coward."


	8. Day Four: Grief

Arthur woke with a cramp in his side and a crick in his neck, curled up on the floor and still clinging to a snoring Mystery. Sunlight filtered in through his broken window, prodding him awake.

He was on day four now. The ink smear on his floor was happy to remind him of his shrunken lifespan. But the despair had lightened some, at least for now. By now he understood he could sink under it at any moment, but opening the floodgates had lessened the pressure some.

He glanced down at Mystery, shaking him slightly. "Hey, buddy." He noted an extra couple of charms on Mystery's collar, and wondered if Vivi put them there. They looked harmless, maybe random presents for the dog.

 _I should board up the window._ The thought crossed his mind, and he dismissed it just as quickly. In a few days, it wouldn't matter. And he didn't feel like spending any time doing something that wouldn't matter. "How 'bout we go for a walk, Mystery? I haven't walked you in a few days."

The dog blinked up at him, dipping his head somberly. Arthur stretched as he stood, then walked over to the closet and grabbed the dog-leash off the knob. He clipped it onto Mystery's collar. "Y'know, appearances," He apologized, knowing full well the dog was the very model of self-restraint and propriety in public.

They left the house together, strolling down the street as the breeze swept autumn leaves across their path. Arthur let his mind wander as they walked. He wondered what he could really leave Vivi to explain. The note on his end table wouldn't cut it, he would get that sanded off by that evening, he decided.

He'd like to see her again. Apologize. He shouldn't have shouted.

But again, he couldn't have her in Lewis' path again.

His mind was tired. Tired of running over this scenario over and over again. But he felt trapped, unable to change the line of his thoughts. They just circled around with each other over and over and over again, an endless parade of shame and failure. Really, there would be no winning in this situation. He would die with Vivi angry at him, Mystery mourning him, and Lewis giving him his due.

He hadn't been paying attention to where they were walking, just aimlessly following as Mystery tugged him along. When he finally came to himself, he stood in the last place he would have ever have thought to come.

The graveyard.

Arthur looked down to Mystery, who stared up at him through yellow tinted glasses, expectantly.

"Buddy, why'd you bring me here?"

Mystery tugged him forward again, bringing him to stand in front of the grave he'd only visited once in his life. He gently took his leash in his mouth and tugged it out of Arthur's slack grip, removing himself several feet away to give Arthur privacy.

Arthur stared at the headstone. It was a beautiful piece. The three of them had moved to the most ghost-infested city they could find and applied to the local college, so by rights Lewis' body should have been shipped home. Only, he'd never had a home to go back to. Not one he'd ever talk about anyway. He always got very quiet and stony when it was mentioned. He suspected once or twice, by the way Vivi would slip her hand into his, that Lewis had told Vivi. He'd only ever told Arthur that his family was as good as dead to him, and left it at that.

So without any family to notify, they had buried him here. Money had never been an issue for Arthur, his robotics patents kept him afloat and comfortable, and he'd owed it to Lewis to lay his body to rest at least.

But he never came here. He had no right to, he knew that. Even now he should leave, but for some reason he found himself sitting cross-legged on top of the grave, staring at the headstone. It was surely the last place Lewis would look for him, and maybe he could have a few moments to sort his thoughts. Bluebells decorated the grave, not yet wilted. Vivi must have been there recently. Withered blue petals indicated several other past visits.

"She really loved you, y'know that right?" His voice came out more cracked than he intended. "She's always been my buddy, my pal. But she fell hard for you. I didn't get why it bothered me so much, until I realized you'd take her away from me someday. And maybe I wanted to be best friends with her forever. You know, like how some people get married and never stop being best friends and hanging out? I'd just never thought of it before. And you thought of it first." He turned his head away. "But maybe you needed her more. It always kind of bothered me, you'd tell her things you wouldn't tell me. I couldn't get that. There was something tying you two together, and it was shutting me out."

He clenched his eyes shut. "I didn't want to be shut out, Lewis. But I didn't want you dead. I swear. It crossed my mind for like, half a second, then I threw it out. But it was enough…" He shuddered. "Lew I've never felt anything like it in my life. I could feel my arm going dead, like it was rotting on my body, and something was reaching through my arm into my chest, and pulling on those feelings. Feeding off them. And then…" He bowed his head. "My arm moved. I didn't move my arm Lew, I swear. I didn't want you dead. I couldn't even move to grab you, cause it was spreading. It wanted more, it wanted all of me. It was going to do things, terrible things." His chest constricted. "It needed me to leave the cave and do terrible things. And then Mystery saved me."

Thin laughter shook his frame. "I could really use your help you know. I hate research on stuff like that, and I still don't know what that dog is. But whatever he is, he ripped my arm off, and it stopped. Just like that. But it was too late."

He reached out his arm, touching the stone lightly with his fingertips. "Look, Lew. I know you want me dead. And I know you have every right, and I'm not gonna stop you." His voice was quiet. "Even if I didn't shove you, I let it in, and that's my fault. I should have talked to you. To Vivi. I let it build up, and if I hadn't… well." He took a deep breath. "But for now… just for a little bit, can I pretend we're still best friends?" He blinked back the blurriness. "I just wanna talk about the old days a little. Cause I miss you."

And so, as the hours passed, he talked. He talked about the first time he'd met Lewis, how bullies were ruining his science project, but Lewis had come up and quietly asked them if there was a problem. Lewis, who was taller by a head than any of them. The bullies had slunk off, and Lewis had asked if Arthur could help him figure a few things out on the assignment.

He talked about the first time Lewis had met Vivi, nearly bowled over by the ecstatic girl's speech patterns. She'd heartily thanked Lewis for being so gallant and saving her best friend, leaving out the fact that she suffered equally under their abuse. The day Lewis had found out about that, he was sent to the principal's office under consideration for expulsion, and the bullies had been admitted to the ER with broken bones.

Arthur chuckled about Lewis' silence, and how it fit Vivi so well. She could go on and on, talking to him about everything and anything, and he would just listen, a small smile on his face.

He talked about the big move. His and Vivi's parents hadn't been thrilled, but had sent them off with good wishes. With his finances already well in hand, he'd rented a tiny house and invited Lewis to be his roommate. Vivi managed an apartment and college classes between scholarships and work as a parttime barista. It was a perfect setup. They worked hard at jobs and classes all week, and on the weekend they would gather up their gear and go ghost hunting.

He talked about Lewis' clothes. Arthur couldn't believe Lewis was such a dandy about clothes, always dressing to the nines no matter where he went. It made no sense to him, it never had, but Arthur had to admit, Lewis was always the biggest presence in the room whenever they went anywhere.

Arthur had never had much appreciation for music beforehand, but he'd grown used to hearing it as he whiled away time in his workshop. Lewis would often dissect popular music, classical music, and any genre he came across for themes, sounds, and flaws. Lewis had an ear for rhythm and rhyme that Arthur could appreciate mathematically, and he would often work on his projects while listening to Lewis test some of his own creations out.

He admitted to Lewis that he'd always been afraid of his temper. Ever since he'd heard about the bullies going to the ER, he'd always been very careful to never provoke his friend. But once, they'd gone to a party at a bar and gotten carried away. Arthur had said something stupid, and had gotten a nasty punch from it. Before he knew it, Lewis had leaped on the guy, pounding him like a drum until police lights flashed outside. Arthur had to post bail for him that night, but when they went home they never spoke of it again.

"You know, Lew, I gotta admit. Between what you said about your family, and stuff like that, sometimes I wonder what they did to you. You were always really quiet, y'know? Quiet like people who've seen too much, or are hiding to keep themselves safe. I wish you'd let me in more, like you let Vivi in. Well," he checked himself, "Not like that, I mean, look I know it's different, but I was your friend too. You could have told me anything." He sighed. "But at least you told Vivi, or at least I think you did. She was always able to draw you out better."

He sighed. The headstone was cast in an eerie orange sunset glow now. He'd been going on for hours, and another day had passed him by. Time was running out, and he still had to set his affairs in order.

He stood, his joints cracking as he did. He brushed the top of the headstone one last time, mumbling, "I'll see you soon, Lewis." Before turning and walking back toward the path. He whistled a low note, and Mystery padded up along behind him. The leash slipped back into his hand, and he headed back into town.

Three days to go.


	9. Day Five: Confrontation

"Let's see how that take went." Arthur hit the stop button on his camera, flipped it around, and started the tape.

"I, Arthur Rebbs, being of sound mind and body, do hereby designate the following possessions to the following people in the event of my death." His voice sounded thin and hollow, even to him. He hoped it was passable enough that nobody would question the "Sound mind" bit. He'd showered and washed his face enough to put a little life back into his expression to support "Sound body."

He muttered to himself just over the recording, "Parents get all my worldly possessions, bla bla bla bla long list… Vivi is sole beneficiary of my robotics patents bla bla bla on condition of taking care of Mystery which won't be a problem bla bla bla… and good."

He'd spent most of the day upon waking up coming up with a list of almost everything he owned. He had the feeling he couldn't just give a general guideline as to who got what, he had to be detailed. He researched the legal name of every patent he'd filed, including the ones still pending, and listed out the ones he'd planned to file. He'd recorded a side video instructing Vivi how to file those, and then gone through his whole house cataloging anything worth keeping and sending to his parents. No siblings, so no other division necessary. They were well off and didn't need his patents, but they'd help Vivi, maybe even give her more time to follow her passion.

The best thing he could offer Mystery was someone else to look after, which was why he'd offered Mystery to Vivi. He glanced down. The dog hadn't moved farther than three feet from him all day. He'd have to have a discussion with Mystery about personal space in two days. No way was he having Mystery up and attack Lewis—if he could do that—on his behalf.

His phone vibrated again, but he ignored it. Vivi had taken to calling him every hour on the hour, but there wasn't anything more to say to her. Every time he considered going over, he would be sharply reminded that at this point, all he would be saying would be some variation of "Goodbye." Vivi was sharp, and Arthur didn't lie so well. It was better to steer clear.

_Hopefully she won't come banging on my door again._

The thought had barely crossed his mind before a furious pounding set up at his front door. He groaned, shutting the video camera and carefully setting it on the worktable. He crossed the room, skirting the leatherbound book that still lay on the floor, and headed out toward the front door.

Before he could reach the front door, a blue-clad arm reached through the window Mystery had broken and carefully curved toward the front knob, fumbling to unlock it. The door swung open as he hit the middle of the room, revealing five foot four inches of blue, steaming out her ears.

Unexpectedly, Arthur felt his own emotions begin to simmer.

"What the hell Vivi?" He demanded. "Who told you you could come barging in?"

"Arthur what the flea-bells is going on?" Vivi's voice was low and tight. "What's come over you? Three-day shut-in, sudden ghost hunt, then you shout at me, then you break down calling yourself a coward," Arthur stiffened, eyes locked on her, "Then you take a walk and visit Lewis' grave—have you even been there ONCE since he was buried?—Now you're arranging your last will and testament! You are going to tell me right now what's going on!"

Arthur's voice was dangerously soft. "How do you know what I was doing?"

"It doesn't matter! Arthur, you have to tell me what's going on. Are you being threatened? Are you going to commit suicide? Are you…" Her eyes fell on the ink smear on the ground. "Are you being haunted by something?"

"Get out." Arthur growled. "If you've been spying on me you're not welcome."

"How else am I going to find out what's going on? You tell me! Because you WON'T tell me, and I'm right here waiting! What is it that's so horrible you won't open up? You tell me EVERYTHING!"

"OUT!" Arthur screamed, storming forward. He grabbed Vivi, spinning her around and shoving her toward the door. "How did you find out? How could you possibly…" He stopped, turning on Mystery. The dog's ears drooped and he slunk back, but Arthur darted forward, scooping the dog up and grabbing his collar. He peered at the new charms hanging there, and his eyes widened.

"A cam? You BUGGED Mystery? Did you KNOW about this?" He turned the angry question on Mystery, shaking him a little.

"Don't hurt Mystery!" Vivi grabbed for the dog, but Arthur rounded on her again.

"What did you hear?" He felt an unearthly anger rising up in him. "What did you _hear_ Vivi?"

"Just you calling yourself a coward and spinning out your last will and testament! The cam was too far away from you when you were at the grave, I just saw you talking but I couldn't hear. Arthur you're scaring me! I don't want to lose you, whatever's going on talk to me, we can work on it together!" She grabbed his arm, pleading.

Arthur closed his eyes for a moment. He could see himself trapped in a corner of the mansion, Lewis hurtling toward him, murder in his skeletal eyes. He could see Vivi, flinging herself in Lewis' path, and the terror of Lewis giving way to the terror of seeing Vivi killed because of what he'd done.

He shoved Mystery into her arms, forcing her to let go to catch the dog. He pushed her the rest of the way out. "Take the traitor dog," He muttered. "You had no right Vivi. Don't come back. I'm sick of you pestering me. No, I'm not going to commit suicide so don't bother calling the police, but this was not okay. When I'm ready to talk I'll come to you, and until then, stay out of my way."

He slammed the door, locking it again.

"Arth—"

"And if you come back I'll call the police on YOU, do you hear me?" He shouted, slamming a fist into the door. "So go!"

He didn't hear any footsteps for a moment. He could all but see the hurt on her face, and shook his head to dispel the image. He was doing the right thing.

Then, her footsteps began moving away. He could hear Mystery whining frantically, but Vivi must have kept a tight hold on him. He could hear her car starting up and pulling away down the street.

He looked around. The second Vivi dropped her attention, Mystery would be back, and Vivi would use it as an excuse to be back too.

Was there anything he'd left undone?

No.

He turned and headed into his room. Grabbing a large knapsack, he shoved in a blanket, a flashlight, some pens, a notebook, and a radio. He shrugged on an extra heavy jacket and headed for the kitchen, where he grabbed some snacks and a few water bottles. Slinging it over his shoulder, he entered his workshop one last time. He grabbed his camera, and slipped the leatherbound black book into his backpack. Turning, he headed for the front door, depositing the camera on the end-table, just over the scribbled note.

It wouldn't matter if she knew at this point. Nobody would know where he was going.

Nobody but Lewis.

Taking a deep breath, he opened his door, locked it behind him, and headed for the van. It was going to be a long night of driving.


	10. Day Six: Pawns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the first character profile on Lewis came out today, and soon Vivi and Arthur's profiles will follow. I would like to note that this fic has been written PRIOR to said profiles, so I deeply apologize if my character facts are off. I had to make them up sans the information the creator is now putting out.

It had been over a year since Arthur had been to the cave, and his memories surrounding entering and exiting it were hazy. He knew which general direction it lay in, and an approximate distance. With that in mind, he pointed the van in that direction and took off. He stopped once during the night to refuel, use the restroom, and purchase a cup of crappy gas station coffee that tasted like the dregs from three nights ago.

It had been several hours of driving before they found the cave, that much he remembered. He'd spent most of it looking out the window, with a few sidelong glances at the happy trio up front. Involuntarily his eyes dropped to the wheel where his hands rested. Lewis had sat here. Lewis had held this wheel, just an hour or so before he died.

He shook free of the chill and gunned out of the gas station, tires screeching. He clipped a sign on his way out, but straightened the van and took off down the empty highway. He noted the horizon had turned a few shades lighter, signaling the beginning of the 6th morning. He swallowed painfully.

_Good. I can't take this much longer anyway._

It couldn't be much farther. They'd taken some side-trail around the area, but there were dozens of side-trails. He could see them just up ahead, snaking off every few-hundred feet to meander about the desert. With no cars in sight, he put pressure on the brakes to consider his options.

As he did, the memory of the path came to him. He shook his head slightly. He was sure he hadn't known which path to take a moment before… but as long as he knew where he was going, he supposed it didn't matter. He pressed down on the gas, counting off twelve side roads before taking the thirteenth.

The thirteenth road took a winding route to a small series of cliffs, and at the base of one such cliff lay the cave. He parked just outside, setting the emergency brake and leaving the keys in the ignition. Maybe the next poor soul that lost their way out here would have a quick escape.

The cave was no less frightening a year later. The mouth of it yawned above, grinning obscenely down at him. Arthur knew better, knew it was just an odd rock formation, but he couldn't shake the same thoughts that had haunted him a year before; that the mouth of the cavern looked like a ravenous beast, and that he was somehow walking willingly into its jaws.

For just a moment, he faltered. Doubts crowded his mind.

_What if Vivi is right, and we could figure this out together?_

_What if Mystery could hold Lewis off long enough for me to explain?_

_What if Lewis just doesn't know?_

Just as quickly, each was shot down.

_You'd be putting her in danger, and she'd hate you for murdering Lewis._

_You sent Mystery away, and Lewis doesn't want to hear an explanation._

_You don't deserve a hearing._

Arthur's head drooped. With shoulders stooped, he entered the cavern.

Immediately he zipped up his jacket, it was already chillier than he remembered. Grabbing his flashlight, he clicked it on. No sense falling off a cliff prematurely. He was pretty sure Lewis would find him no matter where he went, but maybe it would give Lewis more satisfaction to bring the situation full circle. He wasn't sure why the thought hadn't occurred to him before. Maybe he could have saved everyone a lot of trouble by camping out here all week.

But that didn't mean he had to go to the cliff any sooner than was absolutely necessary. He came to a stop where the path forked into two tunnels. There was plenty of room to stretch out here, and he could get some sleep. He set his knapsack down and pulled out the blanket, regretting he hadn't thought to bring a sleeping bag instead. He wrapped it around his shoulders, leaning against the smoothest part of the cave wall he could find. He pulled out a granola bar and bit off half, chewing as he pulled out _The Tell-Tale Heart_ and set it nearby.

He grabbed a pen and his notebook, holding the flashlight in one hand and writing with the other.

_Lewis, I don't know if you'll stop and check this, but I just want you to know I don't blame you. You're right, and I really hope this puts you to rest. If you can, just find a way to make it easier on Vivi. I was trying to keep her at a distance, but I screwed up and hurt her. And tell Mystery I'm really gone, it'll make it easier for him to switch to taking care of Vivi, whatever he is. I wish—_

He stopped, blinking. His robotic arm, the one holding the flashlight, had twitched. But not from the metallic part.

_Phantom limb syndrome, still kicks in sometimes. It's nothing._

His arm shot out, hurling the flashlight against the far wall. He gasped, hitting the release button and rolling away from the limb. Frantically he gathered his flashlight and pointed it at the arm.

Nothing happened.

He stood there, watching it carefully for any signs of movement. Ten minutes passed.

Nothing.

He sighed, approaching the limb. Some wires had probably shorted out, he hadn't maintained it in forever. As he bent over, the stub at his shoulder jerked his whole body backward. He fell on his rear, a sick feeling clawing at his chest. It was a faintly familiar feeling, rancid and cold in his gut, followed by a voice that scraped along the stony walls like dragon scales.

" _Come."_

A low moan slipped out of Arthur's mouth. How could he have been so _stupid._

" _Come."_

He turned, abandoning his flashlight as he tore down the path _away_ from the two tunnels. Lewis would have to find him somewhere else, he should never have come here. Why did he come here?

" _Come."_

The stump of his arm froze in place as if gripped by an unseen force, the rest of his body yanking painfully against it as Arthur jerked to a halt. His whole body trembled, and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He could feel something pulling at him, but what frightened him most was that he could feel it coming, not from outside what was left of arm, but from inside.

"You never really left did you?" He gasped, digging his heels into the cave floor, flailing madly against the part of his body that refused to move. "You just hid!"

" _Come."_

"No! No, never again!" He fought, twisting his entire body toward the tunnel that led toward entrance of the cave. But he could feel his feet slipping against the loose soil of the cavern floor, as he was drawn slowly toward the left tunnel. The one that led upward, to the top of the stalagmite riddled cavern.

He thrashed, screaming at the top of his lungs, "LEWIS, LEWIS YOU HAVE TO STOP HIM! WHATEVER HE'S GOING TO DO, IT'S GOING TO HURT MORE PEOPLE THAN JUST ME! LEWIS IF YOU CAN HEAR ME PLEASE! I'LL DO ANYTHING! YOU HAVE TO KNOW THAT!"

" _Lewis can't hear you. He's not looking for you yet. He'll be here soon enough."_

The contentment in that sentence horrified Arthur further. This thing _wanted_ Lewis there, just like it wanted Arthur there. It had some plan, and whatever it was Arthur did not want to be a part of it.

He struggled all the way to the cliff. For a moment he stopped, overwhelmed by the memory.

_He could see his arm shooting out, slamming into Lewis and shoving him to his death. He could feel Mystery's teeth sinking into his arm, tearing the limb free. He'd kicked into gear as soon as the shock hit his brain, knowing he had limited time. He'd called 9-1-1, describing their location as he ran back down the path, screaming for Vivi. He hadn't had time to even question what Mystery had done or become, he had to get Vivi, get out, and stop bleeding._

His body twisted, buckling under the unseen force within that pulled him to his knees. In front of him lay bones, stripped completely clean, bleached white by wind and polished by sand.

Turning his head to the side, he retched, his mind barely able to connect with what he was seeing.

It was his left arm. He could still see his old watch fastened around the wrist.

_"Come."_

He could feel it now. It was weaker than the first time it had taken him, but still strong enough to drive him. He twisted, trying to pull back as his body bowed forward, his right arm reaching out slowly to grasp the remains of his left.

His back arched backward and he screamed. It was NOTHING like the first time. The first time it had slipped in on the heels of his emotions and thoughts. Now he understood, as its presence flooded up his right arm, shot through his chest and up into his mind. In a moment, he saw everything.

 _"Kitsune…"_ the spirit hissed in sibilant rage. The fox-spirit had meant to remove it entirely, but the spread had been so fast, Mystery had unintentionally left residue within Arthur.

 _"Curses…"_ It wanted freedom. The cave had bound it for centuries with a very specific set of conditions. It could only be freed by the blood of an innocent, saturated with shame, and spilt in revenge. And a second spirit would have to be on hand to take its place.

Arthur's mind flashed back to the times he had pushed Vivi away, had denied Mystery's help, had had sealed off every possibility except death. Even the sudden revelation of which path to take became clear.

"You!" He wailed. "You tricked me!"

His voice fell silent. He could feel control being ripped away from him as the spirit full occupied his body. He felt squeezed into a far, dark corner of his mind as the presence exerted itself. It dropped the bones, useless now that it had transferred its full self back into him, and returned for Arthur's robotic arm, re-attaching it. It returned him to the cliff and sat him in the middle of the ledge.

 _"Now we wait."_ Arthur shuddered to feel the sickening voice echo from his own throat. _"But I have been alone such a long time, and there is so little entertainment here."_ He felt the spirit turn, locating where it shoved him. _"What do you say we have some fun before the seventh day?"_


	11. Day Seven: Showdown

_"Please, please, please…" Arthur's breath came in ragged gasps as he neared the edge of the cliff. He could feel his heart beating like it was about to explode, the blood pounding in his ears. "Please!"_

_"This is for Lewis!" A pair of hands shoved into his back, sending him hurtling over the edge. His body twisted around just enough to see Vivi's grim-set face staring down at him._

_The wind rushed past his ears as the pounding in his head roared to a crescendo before stopping abruptly._

_He knew what came next, and tried to shut his eyes against it, but was unable to. A stalagmite protruded from the middle of his body, now streaked with blood. There was a moment or two of numbness, the disbelief and refusal of his body to process what was happening to it._

_Then it hit him. The searing pain of ripped flesh and the shattering agony of bone and muscle torn apart, organs ruptured and functions failing. He tried to scream, but the spike must have caught the bottom of a lung, because he couldn't even draw breath enough to make a sound beyond a faint hiss. His vision began to blur, but before he surrendered to the blackness, he could just make out the silhouette of Vivi, staring down at him from the cliff ledge._

Arthur's soul gasped, shrieking as he writhed in the grip of the Spirit.

_"I quite liked that one, possibly the best response yet. Shall we try it again?"_

Arthur didn't know how long he'd been sitting on the cavern ledge, his body calmly composed in a cross-legged sitting position as the Spirit toyed with his soul. For hours the Spirit had been replaying Lewis' fall from the ledge in Arthur's mind, only it was Arthur falling from the ledge. He felt every moment as if it was happening, and no matter how many times he braced himself, the fall was just as terrifying, and the impact just as agonizing.

Every time there was something different about the scenario. Sometimes it was Lewis shoving him off, or Mystery. Sometimes the spikes were large, sometimes small, sometimes there was more than one impaling him. Sometimes he threw himself off. Sometimes it was his parents, throwing him off the cliff out of shame for having a murderer as a son. Once it had been a public execution, complete with police, judge, and jury in the cavern. But the Spirit had finally run the scenario with Vivi pushing him off through his head. He'd felt his heart crack at the image, prompting the Spirit to replay that one over and over and over.

Even within himself he had no sense of how the Spirit appeared. He heard the fluttering of leathery wings and felt viselike claws binding him, but no vision of the beast presented itself. He had tried to regain control of himself, but the Spirit would only laugh and send him into another vision.

His mind was fractured, fracturing. He was losing himself. He felt there was something important he was forgetting, something he had to prevent from happening, but it kept slipping away from him. There was someone he had to warn, but whenever he'd nearly recalled it, he was plunged into another vision.

Had it been hours? Days? Years? How long had he been falling from the ledge without really falling?

"Kill me!" He shrieked. "Just kill me! Do it!"

_He was falling, plunging to his death as Vivi's accusation seared his mind. "Murderer!"_

"Please!"

 _"Patience,"_ the Spirit rasped, laughing. _"Death will come soon enough. For now, let's enjoy this a little longer."_

_Flames crawled up the spikes, licking at his skin and crisping it as he struggled to free himself, only sliding further down the stalagmite. As his vision darkened, he felt a familiar headache collect behind his eyes._

_"Ahhh, he comes."_ The Spirit's eyes glowed through his as it turned Arthur's body, positioning it to face the tunnels, away from the ledge. _"A primitive calling spell, but then he is only a year old."_

Arthur's neck began to twitch in time with the pulse in his head. The Spirit merely grinned. _"But he will come to me."_

Arthur could no longer remember who they were waiting for, or why it was important. He lay limp in the Spirit's grip, clinging desperately to the few moments where he was not suffering. His head jerked again and again, harder, but the body did not move. The Spirit was strong.

A pink glow suffused the tunnel, and Arthur could see it growing brighter. A form rounded the corner; a skeleton standing over six feet tall dressed in a striking black suit, fiery pink hair flickering with flames as he approached. His footsteps made no sound, and he carried nothing with him, save a notebook in one hand.

Something nudged at the back of Arthur's mind, some detail he needed desperately to remember, but then _he was hurled across the cavern by an unseen hand, arcing farther and falling faster than he ever had before. He felt himself land across several spikes, bursting apart as he expired._

He came back to himself as the skeleton stared at him, its eyes glowing pink and very, very cold. The spectre was peering into his eyes like it could see everything, both visible and invisible.

"Who are you?" The skeleton's voice was familiar, but Arthur steeled himself against thinking too hard on it. The Spirit would know, the Spirit would kill him again.

 _"A friend,"_ Arthur's mouth replied. _"I've been watching this coward ever since he came here. Really he is rather pathetic. It seems he came with some notion of setting a trap."_ Arthur's head jerked in the direction of the exit. _"Came with the van and all the ghost hunting trappings, hoping to catch you off guard. Thought I would do you a favor."_

"Very generous." The voice was clipped and short, the skeleton still staring. "Why?"

 _"Let's just say this cave has been my home for a very long time, and I've seen quite a lot over the last few centuries."_ Arthur's head tilted, a grin spreading across his face. _"Consider me a guardian of justice."_

The skeleton stood there, unmoving. His hair flickered and flared like a candle in the dark.

 _"You've been waiting for a long time for this, haven't you?"_ The Spirit's voice bled through into Arthur's, rasping with sympathy _. "I saw what happened. I saw all of it. And since you were murdered, you've been wandering the world. I remember your first few moments, bewildered and confused. Then shocked and wounded. How could he have done this to you? How could your best friend have betrayed you like that? And then you knew."_ The voice deepened. _"He wanted you gone, so he could have the female to himself."_

Lewis' hair flared brighter even as he himself did not move.

Lewis. His name was Lewis. Arthur cringed, expecting another vision, but the Spirit was focused elsewhere.

_"Your screams shook my cavern, I've never seen such pain in a ghost. She must have meant so much to you, and this one parted you forever."_

The skeletal hands tightened into fists.

In spite of himself, Arthur still felt the name slipping away. He knew it was important somehow, and he whispered it to himself. Even as the meaning of the name vanished, he continued repeating the same syllables and sounds over and over to himself until they sounded like nonsense words.

 _"Please, friend. Let yourself be at rest. I will hold him, you don't have to worry. He never even managed to lay the first trap."_ He spread his arms, scooting back dangerously close to the ledge. _"Complete the cycle, and be at peace."_

Lewis's finger slid into the notebook, marking a page. "I want to see his face."

 _"It is right here."_ Arthur's arm gestured at his face.

"I want to see Arthur. As he dies."

The grin widened. _"Ah. I see. You wish to see the realization on his face. I understand."_ His mouth opened as the Spirit funneled out, whispering, "May it ease your pain."

Arthur crumpled to the ground facefirst, his body trembling uncontrollably. He felt his bladder release and his jaw go slack, a low moan clawing its way out of his throat as his head twisted sideways, his cheek scraping across the ground.

"Look at me."

It was difficult to remember how to move his eyes, or any other part of his body. He was disoriented, swimming in a deep black void, trying to find a way to comply with the strange skeleton's demand. "Lewis, Lewis, Lewis, Lewis," He panted to himself, over and over. The sound that came out of his mouth was a hellish moan that rose and fell in volume. "…ewwwwewwwwewwwwew…"

He felt his head jerk up, feeling the hot, bony grip on his chin, forcing his face up. He was staring into the skeleton's face, feeling the fire blazing from its hair.

"Lewis, Lewis, Lewis." His soul rocked, unable to control anything, trying to hold onto the strange sounding word that seemed to be important.

"…ewwiiiiewwwiiiiewiiiii…"

The spectre dropped him, stepping back several paces. He could feel the lip of the cliff at his back as he lay there, curled on his side.

"….ewwwissssewiiissssss…"

 _"Savor your vengeance."_ The Spirit purred. _"You've earned it."_

The skeleton lowered his head, and charged at Arthur, pink flames flaring from its heels.

"Llllewiiiiiisssss…" Arthur's eyes closed as his body tensed for the final impact.


	12. Inhabitation

Oddly enough, death didn't feel like falling, or smell like blood and guts. It felt like a warm gust of desert wind and smelled of hot peppers. He felt his body cease trembling, as what tiny control he'd had was once again wrested away from him. He lay within himself, curled into a tiny ball, mumbling over and over to himself.

"Lewis. Lewis. Lewis. Lew—"

Something touched his soul, something warm. He recoiled, crying out, "L-Lewis, Lewis, Lewis!"

"What have you done?" All the hatred was gone from the skeleton's voice—if the figure standing in his mind's eye was indeed the same. He no longer looked skeletal, but flesh and blood. He wore a billowing white silk shirt with a purple vest and tie, his purple hair overhanging the horrified expression on his face. There was something about him that plucked at the edges of Arthur's mind, but he shut his thoughts against it.

"No more, please!" Arthur begged. "Please, end it!"

 _"Lewis, what have you done?"_ The Spirit's voice was devoid of friendliness now, hard and cold.

The figure stood stock still, and Arthur could feel his memories filling the intruder's mind, soaking the strange purple figure with all of his knowledge.

 _"Leave him!"_ The Spirit roared. _"This isn't your vengeance! Leave him now before he fills your mind with lies!"_

"Him?" The figure turned sharply, and Arthur felt his body respond, turning to face a pair of glowing green eyes. " _He's_ the one filling my mind with lies?" A tremble worked its way up Arthur's body, but not one of fear. " _He's_ the liar?"

The eyes stared at him for a moment, coldly measuring them both. Then the Spirit roared, opening a mouth that spilled green fumes through needle-like teeth. _"YOU HAVE FAILED! YOU HAVE FAILED, AND NOW I WILL HAVE TO FIND ANOTHER! IT HAS TAKEN CENTURIES FOR TRAVELLERS TO FIND THIS CAVE, AND A YEAR TO STEW HIS SOUL IN ENOUGH SHAME TO FREE ME! YOU WILL BOTH SUFFER BEFORE I TAKE YOUR LIVES!"_

Arthur's mouth didn't move, but his body stood, slowly. He felt heat in his palms and at the back of his head, and something deep and dark was rising within him. He could feel it swelling and rising like a wave, higher and higher. He wailed within himself, sure that he would be crushed by the weight of the feeling, but it swept past him, pouring out of his hands—now pointed toward the Spirit—as roaring pink flames.

"You!" Lewis screamed—the figure's name was Lewis, wasn't it?-the flames pouring out of Arthur's palms as the image of Lewis falling to his death flashed through their minds. "You!" His rage swept over the Spirit, knocking it aside into the wall as they recalled together Lewis and his year-long desire to kill his best friend. A flash of shame underscored the rage of the specter within Arthur as he bellowed, "Because of _you_!" And Arthur understood Lewis to mean the state of his own shattered self.

Arthur still had no control over himself and hardly knew where he was within his body, but he stretched himself out, reaching somewhere in the void toward the flaming purple intruder. He spoke the word that he'd been holding onto for hours.

"Lewis!"

Immediately the flames stopped, and he felt his soul being wrapped in something strong and warm. For a moment he clung to that, hardly caring what it was so long as it stayed.

 _"Do you really think that even scratched me?"_ They looked up to see the Spirit standing again, blocking the exit. It hunched over, supporting itself on dragon-like appendages; long-clawed hands that supported a wing-structure running up the arms and onto its bowed back. Its face remained little more than a shadowy maw of ravenous-looking teeth, but its eyes were fixed on them. _"You are a newborn ghost compared to me. I have been in this cave for hundreds of years, and before that I was a god among mortals, feared by all! They curried my favors, they dreaded my wrath, they threw their young down to die that I would be placated!"_ The Spirit slammed claws down onto the ledge, a crack running along it. _"And you would ruin all that I have set in place to be free. Worms!"_ Its jaws opened wide as it crouched. _"I will consume you!"_

Arthur's body turned to the edge of the ledge. His soul recoiled, screaming in mortal terror.

"Don't." Lewis' voice was quiet. "Just hold tight." With that, they leaped off the ledge. Their body plummeted toward the foggy cave floor, but as they drew close, a strange purple shape rose out of the mist and deflected them from hitting a spike. They landed—not on hard rock—but a soft mound of purple.

Arthur's soul reeled from the fall. It felt like pieces of his mind were peeling off and flying away and he couldn't stop it. He barely recognized the little purple ghosts as they helped his body to its feet and vanished.

"Stay with me," Lewis ordered, taking off into the fog. "Have to hide." They fled deeper into the cavern, past labyrinthine contortions of rocks and spires, but both could feel the Spirit's eyes on them.

_"Maggots. This is my domain."_

A stalactite broke free from the ceiling, shattering inches from Arthur's body. Then another fell, and another and another. The Spirit wrenched them free, hurling them across the cavern like a game of darts. It laughed coldly. _"Continue running. It is good sport."_

Lewis hurled their body to the side, barely avoiding a double set of spikes. Arthur could feel his heart pounding, but in a steady, measured rhythm that belied their frantic flight. They lay there a moment, gasping for breath.

"Forgot… needing to breathe…" Lewis panted, and Arthur giggled manically at the ridiculousness of the statement.

A massive claw pinned their body down, turning them over to stare up at the glowing green eyes.

 _"Finished already? My turn again."_ It opened its jaws, inhaling deeply.

Arthur felt the warmth being torn from him. Lewis, he could feel Lewis slipping away. He was trying to hang on to something, anything, but the Spirit was powerful.

"Lewis!" He shouted, flailing out. How could he hold a ghost? "Don't go!"

And like that, Lewis came flooding back, winding himself tightly in place.

The Spirit's eyes narrowed as its mouth closed. _"Clever. Acceptance of a possession is rare, but I suppose I've created extraordinary circumstances. Very well then. Die together."_ It lifted them up, beating its wings as it rose into the air, higher and higher. Thin trails of green fog dripped from its mouth, winding around their body and binding them tightly. _"No more dispersing yourself for cushioning,"_ it chuckled.

It reached the top of the cavern, higher than the ledge had ever been. Arthur turned inward, away from the sight, moaning.

Once again, the warmth touched his soul gently. And he could almost swear he saw Lewis with a grieved expression in his mind's eye.

"I'm sorry." Whispered through his mind.

With no words left, Arthur again embraced the warmth.

And then they were falling. The wind whistled past their ears, tearing at their clothes and raking across their skin.

And then it stopped. They were thrown roughly sideways, something sharp digging into their skin but not quite breaking it. They opened their eyes, staring dumbfounded at the last sight they expected to see.

A giant beast in the shape of a fox had them secure between its teeth, its eyes smoldering with rage, its six tails spread wide like a fan. And on its back, a small blue form, clinging for dear life, and staring at them with a wide-open mouth.


	13. Internal Dialogue

_The quick, brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. Foxes can achieve speeds of 50 kilometers an hour. Foxes are omnivorous and tend toward rodents, birds, small mammals, and certain fruits, tubers, grasses. They'll never outfox the fox._

"Don't fall apart now!"

_Pick up sticks. A game commonly used among children who enjoy making a mess. Can transition to tinker toys for engineering. Lincoln logs for architects. Xylophones for future music majors. 52 pickup, or was it 54 pickup? Cards or sticks? Fetch the stick, Foxy Loxy._

"Arthur!"

_A cat-o-nine tails is a punishment but a fox-o-six tails is running around fighting a lizard and it's supposed to be alright. Vivi's blue and I'm two people and the dog's not a dog and I'm falling all the time and it hurts._

"Arthur…"

_Roses are blue and Lewis is purple and dead but not dead and the wires are crisscrossed and shorted sparking mad mad mad mad mad we're all mad here._

Arthur's thoughts raced, whirling and careening around inside his skull with dizzying speed, rolling faster and faster as they collected bits and pieces of other thoughts on the way. He felt the cave floor beneath his body, but could he even be sure of that? A moment ago he'd been held in a giant mouth, and now a blue cloud was shaking him and a purple haze inside was trying to tell him not to fall apart.

He couldn't hear the blue cloud, but he could hear the purple haze that permeated his chest and head. How he knew it was purple, he wasn't even sure, but it seemed to be pushing him to do something, or maybe not do something.

_Do it yourself, you have control, just leave me alone._

The haze continued pressing. It seemed to be something the haze couldn't do itself. What could the haze possibly not do for itself at this point? Why was Arthur even there anymore? The purple haze could just take over forever for all he cared.

"NO."

The word slammed through the corridors of his mind and out of his mouth, breaking through the incoherency.

"LISTEN."

That was what the purple haze wanted? Listen. He supposed he could listen, there wasn't much else he could do. Listen to what?

"Listen to a story."

_Bedtime stories. Little Red Riding Hood. The Three Little Pigs. They both had a wolf in it. Maybe the Fox and the Sour Grapes._

"Oh gods, Arthur… Once upon a time there was a stupid, stupid ghost."

_Ghost in the shell. Turtle in a half shell. Shell gas station._

"And the stupid ghost thought he'd been killed by his best friend. He thought he'd been killed over the girl they loved. And he got angry, because that's what he does, he gets angry and screws everything up by not getting all the facts."

_Screws. Bolts. Nuts. Nuts and fruit. Fruitcake._

"So the stupid ghost planned his revenge. He failed the first time, because the girl saved his best friend's life."

_There's a fox and a lizard and they're tap dancing to the music in my head. The blue cloud is so soft. Why is the blue cloud raining?_

"So he tried again, and this time he tried to drive his friend crazy because he was so, so angry. He was so angry he forgot the good times they'd had together, and the times his friend helped him in really bad binds, and the fact that his friend would never do something like that. He ignored the missing pieces because it felt better to be angry, because angry is a safe place."

_Safe place sounds good right now, the ceiling's full of swords falling, falling, falling._

"And then he tried to find the friend and kill him, but he found a bunch of things that were all wrong. There was a flashlight that wasn't broken. His friend was scared, and wouldn't go alone into the dark without a flashlight. There was a snack half-eaten. The friend would never leave food unfinished. There was a notebook with a note in it, saying the friend knew the ghost was coming for him and that it was okay."

_Lizards will eat us like little skittle snacks skitter skittles like little jacks._

"And the ghost knew something was wrong, so he went and he found his friend had been stolen, and a stranger was inside him. The ghost had to know what was wrong, because he was finally starting to realize he didn't have all the pieces. It took him this long because he is a stupid ghost."

_Ghosty ghosty in the dell, how long are we locked in hell?_

"So the ghost tricked the stranger into leaving, then got inside of his friend to see all his memories. He saw that it was the stranger that had really killed him, the stranger wearing his friend's face. He saw how much his friend suffered during the year, and in the last week… and in the last day. And he saw…" The voice choked off for a moment, and Arthur's eyes filled with tears that were not his own.

_Rain rain, go away, come again another day._

"…he saw his friend talking to his body and his memory in the graveyard."

_Dust and ashes, dust and ashes, everything is dust and ashes._

"And the ghost realized he was a very, very stupid ghost. And he tried to protect them both from the stranger, but it was too late. Then the friend's pet came, the pet that wasn't really a pet but a fox. And the fox is going to save the stupid ghost and the friend from the stranger, but Arthur you have to pull together. PLEASE Arthur!"

_King Arthur started off as a Squire, not even a squire, nobody liked him, and suddenly he became a King somehow with a lovely Queen. How does the story end?_

"I don't know Arthur, but you have to hang in there with me! Vivi's here, I'm here, Mystery's fighting for us. You can do this!"

_I'm tired and it all hurts and everything is fuzzy around the edges._

"No, Arthur! ARTHUR! DON'T YOU DARE!"

_I don't want it to hurt anymore._

The warmth blazed all around him, soaking the fringes of his tattered soul.

"If you fade out I'll find your ghost and haunt your ghost all the rest of my days, DON'T YOU FADE OUT NOW, DO YOU HEAR ME!"

_Hee hee, Lewis made a joke…_


	14. The Fox and the Lizard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only pure POV shift that I hope will happen here, because it is necessary. I currently cannot think of any other way to explain what's going on, because, well, Arthur's not in any kind of fit state at the moment… stop laughing Zim, you're next. I also chose to shift tense to solidify the POV difference, hope it works? Call it an experiment.

Almost too late. He is weak, he is shattered, and he is not alone. I feel a second spirit within Arthur as I lower him to the ground. It can only be Lewis, but I have no time to sort the situation. Neither can I stop and explain to the poor, bewildered Vivi why one minute I'd been next to her in the van and the next she was on my back as I bounded across the desert.

It will have to wait.

I nudge Arthur's body toward Vivi, swiping his forehead with my tongue before turning around, hackles raised.

From the ledge above, a pair of green eyes regard me steadily. I know those eyes.

His wings spread as he soars down toward me, touching down effortlessly between two spires. His eyes travel to the forms behind me, and back toward me. A leering grin stretches across his malformed features.

 _"Mystery?"_ He questions derisively. _"Our names are unpronounceable by any mortal creature and you accept the name_ Mystery _? Here I thought you could not sink lower."_

 _"It is a matter of perspective who has sunk lower."_ I reply coldly.

 _"I would say it was the one who chose to be slavebound to humans as his punishment."_ He sneers.

 _"And I would say it is the one lurking in dark cavern corners growing colder and bitterer by the century. Or perhaps you prefer it, since you chose to be cave-bound rather than human-bound."_ I return.

He spits a glob of vile substance at my paw. _"I would rather be a free cave-worm than a slave to walking clumps of dirt. Let me pass, and I will free you of your chains."_

I don't move, every muscle in my body tense, every sense trained on him. I cannot let him touch Arthur. I _will_ not. _"I no longer seek freedom. I have found better."_

He tilted his head back, laughing uproariously. _"Then it is true! You have become nothing more than a pet, a domesticated animal, a child's plaything."_

The words slide off of me. He means to anger me, but he cannot understand. We are no longer the same. I have grown many tails since he and I ravaged mortal lives, and I understand so much more. His words have no power over me.

 _"Your plan is spoiled,"_ I reason, _"They are worthless to you now. Allow us to leave, and find another."_

 _"No!"_ he roars, raking furrows in the cavern floor with his claws like the stone was butter. _"They have denied me my freedom. Their lives are forfeit! Their souls mine! Leave now, and you may keep all your tails and the blue one, for the sake of our past."_

 _"Must it come to this?"_ I ask, already knowing the answer. But it does not trouble me as it once might have. He harmed Arthur, I may not be able to save his mind even if I save his body. I cannot imagine what was done to him after he threw Vivi and I out of the house.

 _"Oh it must,"_ he purrs, crouching to circle, _"And I would have you show your fire if we're to fight. You don't know what I did to him, did you?"_

In spite of myself, I feel my lips curl back. _"I surmise you shattered him thoroughly. It always was your style."_

 _"Indeed,"_ he chuckles, _"I had him in my grip just over 24 hours, and every moment was spent falling."_

Something in my chest seizes.

_"Falling from the cliff, pushed by every familiar face he knew, especially the blue one. Occasionally yourself."_

A growl starts somewhere deep in my throat, working its way out slowly.

_"Imagine what it will be like, even if you can retrieve him. How frail his grip on reality will be. How easily broken again. You will have to watch him like a hawk to keep him safe, every demon for miles around will smell blood from such a wounded soul. He will be the easiest target for a hundred miles, and there is nothing you can do but watch him be taken over and over and over again."_

I hardly realize I've moved until I'm upon him, clawing and snarling with hate. He hurls me off easily, adding a swipe that nearly opens my guts. I suck in my belly, escaping with light scratches as I twist to land on my feet. I fold my tails together to reduce my size and vanish into the fog.

_"You think I do not know where you are? This is my domain!"_

I feel his breath on my flank and I leap aside, instinct alone saving me as his jaws snap shut on air. So then, hiding will not help. He knows every inch, probably has trained his ears to every variation of the carved rock surface.

Well then, perhaps it is time to change the layout. Glancing to be sure Arthur is safe—oh clever Vivi, you found an alcove in the wall!—I turn, thrusting my forehead forward, and take to my paws. I veer around the deadly spikes, passing one that smells of Lewis' dried blood, and slam head-first into the wall.

I stumble back, dizzy, shaking my head.

 _"You intend to knock yourself senseless before I have the chance?"_ His voice is amused, but I turn around, darting back in the opposite direction and slamming into the opposing wall just as hard.

 _"What are you doing?"_ His wingbeats hover above me. _"What—"_

A crack runs up the side of the wall where I have just hit, but I am already across back at the first impact point, plowing into it again. One or two stalactites plummet to the ground, shattering in impact.

 _"No!"_ He screeches. _"You can't!"_ He dives at me, claws outstretched like a hawk aiming for a shrew, but I am no shrew. As we converge at the center of the cave, I leap up and catch his claws in my teeth, sinking them deep and hard. He bellows, beating me about the head with his wings. I cannot hear well now, there is a ringing like an ancient bell in my head, and something is dripping from my forehead. I rear back, dragging him down and slamming him against a spire, and then again against another.

I release him, turning to ram my head against the second impact point again. The crack is longer now, reaching up toward the top of the cave on both sides. I only hope Vivi keeps Arthur in the shelter.

I stumble on my way back. My head is beginning to hurt. I've always had a thick skull, but I've never thrown it against a rock wall. For the third time, I strike the first point, and turn back to the opposing side. One more ought to do it. Stalactites are falling from the ceiling like rain. I stumble on weaving legs, plowing ahead.

A claw wraps around my hind leg, locking in a deathgrip. A stalactite I would have avoided slices along my side, opening a deep wound. I howl, curling around to snap at the arm clutching me, but the other is reaching for my neck. I cannot get closer to the claw holding me, or I am lost. I cannot stay where I am, with the cave raining swords from the ceiling, or I am lost.

Eyes burning, I turn back to the cave wall. Perhaps this is what Arthur felt like that evening, I think to myself, as I lunge forward, straining with every ounce of my being as his claws sink through my skin, cutting sinew and muscle, carving into bone. Suddenly I am free, I am hurtling on three legs toward the cavern wall, my whole body hitting the point.

The cave groans, rock shrieking as it tumbles all around. He screams in agony, his bond to the cave shredding his body even as the cave itself crumbles. I feel the rocks piling onto my body, and I cannot fight them, my head is spinning. I curl up on myself, feeling the weight on me grow greater and greater as I hold out. Just a few moments longer… and there. The pressure of the rocks around me is strong enough to hold the form.

I release my larger form, shrinking down. The rock formation stays in place above and around me, a shelter. I am trapped in, but no longer crushed.

Now all I have to do is burst out and find—

My head spins and I sink onto my haunches. There's more blood on the ground than I remember there being a moment ago. Something is hurting, I can't quite put a paw on what it is. I rear up, trying to push my way out, but I forget I am small and tumble back to the ground.

Maybe a little sleep. Then I'll be well. I'll be able to help Arthur after I rest a little—

Arthur.

With a howl, I launch at the rocks, scrabbling hard against them. He has to be alright, he just has to…


	15. Shattered

I don't know where the energy comes from, I'm bleeding from my side, my belly, my hind leg. Demon-inflicted wounds are not so easily healed, and I should not be able to to burst back to full size again, but I do. I break my back against the stones, roaring with the effort as I press against the tomb that caved around me.

The rocks shift slowly at first, then they tumble back as I burst through, dragging myself from the hole. The sky is starlit overhead. Only a few remnants of the walls remain, though we are still in a deep pit. I scan the rubble, but see nothing. I close my eyes, inhaling deeply through my nose. Past the scent of his blood and mine, I smell Arthur. I smell Vivi.

And I feel Lewis.

I stumble across the rubble, picking my way to the spot where the scent is strongest. I grasp chunks in my teeth, tossing them aside, and work them free with my forepaws.

Clever Vivi and her quick thinking. The alcove is still there, and so are they. Covered in cavedust and shaking, but alive. I reach my muzzle in to pull them out, but Vivi yanks Arthur back, staring at me like she's never seen me before.

It stings, but truthfully, she has never seen me before. Not like this. But I don't have time to explain. Arthur smells more like Lewis than Arthur, and that's bad. I reach in, nipping Arthur by the back of his jacket and dragging him out. Vivi seems to be attached, as she is also dragged out. I pull them into the open and drop them, trying to nose Arthur onto his back.

Vivi swats my nose. I wince, growling lightly.

"BACK OFF!" She shouts up at me, brandishing a fist while still clinging to Arthur. "I don't know who you are or what you did with Mystery but just stay away!"

I sink down on my haunches, the rubble suddenly spinning around me. How much blood am I losing? I'm shrinking down again, and I didn't initiate the shift. I don't have time!

"Mystery?" She's looking down at me in shock now. I drag myself closer and put a paw on Arthur, managing a weak bark.

"He's… I don't know how he is…" She looks down at him. There are tear tracks through the dust on her face. "How they are."

So she knows.

I paw at her pocket where she usually keeps her cell. She pushes my paw away. "I already called, people are on their way, but something's wrong with Arthur. Lew… I mean…" she faltered. "I think it's Lew… he's talking like Arthur's trying to leave. Mystery what's going on?"

The rubble is spinning and I am having trouble remembering which way is up. Breathing is harder, did I crack ribs? I tug at her sleeve, positioning my head under her hand. I bark to let her know to keep her hand there—it sounds weaker than I would prefer—and I move to sit on Arthur's stomach.

I curl up on his chest, burying my face just under his chin. Vivi's hand is on my head. I cannot take her inside Arthur with me, but I can let her hear our thoughts.

And then I am also there, and I can see.

The humans have only faint glimpses in their minds of what I see quite clearly. And what I see is Lewis, crouched in the center of a screaming black void of cacophony and chaos that sucks hungrily at the light he cups protectively in his hands.

 _"Lewis."_ I call urgently. He turns toward me, his vision in Arthur's mind only slightly better than Arthur's. I project myself as strongly as I can in the image he best knows, that of the group mascot. Mystery.

 _"Don't let go!"_ I warn. _"Keep him here, don't let him fade away!"_

"He's fighting me," Lewis' reply is grieved. "He wants to fade out. I drove him here."

_"Feel sorry later. Right now, hold him. Did you see pieces anywhere else?"_

"When we fell he went flying everywhere. This is all I could grab."

 _"Keep him here. Remind him of who he is, why you're friends, good things and memories. He needs both of you. Now."_ I turn, vanishing into the howling void before he can ask who else is listening. My strength is not sapped here, but it will not be long before weakness catches up with me, and I must collect Arthur.

I see sparks ahead, and I leap after them.

"Squire," I hear Vivi's voice override the void as I close in on a shard of Arthur's soul, "I don't know what's going on, or why Mystery's a giant thing—believe me he and I are going to have a LONG talk later—or why Lewis is inside you—EVEN LONGER TALK BUSTER BROWN, DO YOU HEAR ME?—but I swear to all that is holy if you fade out I'm going to track what's left of you down and run you through the most humiliating ghost hunting chicanery you can think of you big soup-brained mech-head!"

Lewis' chuckle echoes weakly as I swoop up the shard in my jaws and turn to sniff out another. "Better listen, she pulled out the nasty name calling. Remember when she called you a fudge-faced otterpop? You laughed so hard you fell over Mystery."

A second ago, where there was only darkness, I see a few flickers. I race for them, holding my breath for fear of blowing them out by accident.

"Remember your blueprint for a suit of armor? Supposed to take care of all physical needs for a week, right? Looks like you're partway there with the arm, where are those plans?"

A blue sheet of paper flickers somewhere, darting in and out of existence. Its glow falls on another sliver of Arthur's dimly glowing soul, and I target it.

"You know my ecto-detecto is probably gonna be the best piece of ghost hunting gear I own, so don't make me use it on you." Vivi continues her threats.

This is what Arthur needs, different pieces of his soul are reacting to the different personalities drawing on different memories and feelings. _"Keep going, it's working!"_

"Remember the day before the cave, Arthur?" Lewis' voice is very quiet. "You were looking at me and Vivi weird. I didn't get it. I didn't ask either."

"Oh Squire," Vivi chokes. "Don't you dare fade out… just… just…"

Little lights blaze all around. I can barely scramble fast enough, back and forth and all around. My mouth burns like I have the sun under my tongue, but I hold tight and turn tail, racing back to Lewis. I nudge my snout between his hands where the piece he holds lies, and open my mouth, releasing the rest.

It all falls in a heap at Lewis' feet, some glowing brightly and others barely visibe, but none of them coming together.

Lewis looks to me in alarm. "Mystery, why?"

I don't have an answer for him. I don't have any answers. I don't feel well. I open my mouth to try and speak, and all that comes out is a croak.

"Guys?" Vivi's voice is frightened. I feel hands on my body. "Mystery's not doing well, his breathing's really shallow. Oh weasel tails what happened to his leg? Guys!"

I can't put Arthur back together. Even here my strength has run out, and I am being sucked back into my failing body. I begin to feel the full extent of my injuries, exacerbated by my efforts. I can't bring in enough air. Arthur, where is…

"Mystery?"

My ears twitch. That voice. That voice out loud.

"Mystery…. MYSTERY!"

I feel my lips curl up. That's my Arthur. He _would_ pull together now. More worried about… some…..one….else…..


	16. Don't Think About It

Arthur lunged up, his arms coming up to clutch at Mystery. "M-Mystery!" There was a second person inside of him and the cave had fallen apart and Vivi was holding onto him, but nothing else mattered. He couldn't afford for anything else to matter, but he could afford for Mystery to matter.

Mystery's breathing was shallow. He had a deep gash running down his side, and his forehead was matted with blood, and his belly had several parallel shallow cuts. Arthur's breath caught at the sight of Mystery's left hind leg, severed at the hock. He shed his jacket in seconds and yanked off his shirt. "G-gotta stop the b-bleeding." He tore his shirt apart, taking the longest shred and using it to tie off Mystery's leg. The tourniquet bit into Mystery's skin, but he had to cut off the blood flow. He checked the other wounds, determining the only one still life threatening was the gash in Mystery's side. But when he tried to bind the gash, Mystery gasped, yelping in pain.

"B-broken ribs, b-buddy what did you do…" Arthur pulled Mystery onto his jacket and wrapped the dog in it, lifting him up. He turned, still disoriented. He caught a flash of blue out of the corner of his eye, and turned fully around. "V-v…V…" Why was it so hard to speak? "V… c-call for help, please…ease…"

Vivi's face, there was some emotion on Vivi's face. He couldn't connect to what it was. Why couldn't he read her face? Vivi was an open book, he always knew what she was thinking.

"Because you're still broken."

Arthur leaped at the voice from inside, slamming his mind against it. Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Don't think about it. Think about Mystery. Think about making sure Vivi called for help. "V…" WHY COULDN'T HE… He stared imploringly at Vivi. She had to know what he meant.

"I called, they're on their way Squire." She managed, wiping her face hard.

As she spoke, the sound of a siren wailed in the distance. He struggled to his feet holding the dog-and-jacket bundle, then sank back down with a scream.

"Squire! What is it?"

"I… I…" His chest heaved. He tried to stand again, and again fell back to the ground, making frantic, panicky noises.

"Come on, we have to be ready to go!" Vivi grabbed his arm to pull him up, but he yanked away from her, eyes wide.

"T…t…. too high…" His eyes were round as dinner plates as he stared up at her, begging her to understand. "Too high, I'll f… I'll f…."

"Squire what happened to you?" Vivi's eyes were spilling something strange. The sirens were getting louder. "You can't do this Squire. They're going to throw a rope or a ladder or something, and you're going to have to get yourself up it cause I can't carry you, please stand up!" She tugged at his arm.

Something moved inside his chest, and it was very gentle, and warm, and careful. He didn't think very hard about it, he couldn't. But whatever it was, it came with three very distinct words.

"Mystery needs you."

He wasn't sure how he got to his feet, but he didn't think about it. When the sling was lowered for Mystery, he placed him in it and climbed the ladder for himself, making very sure not to think about what he was doing. As soon as he reached the top, he reclaimed Mystery, stammering that they needed to go to the vet right away.

"You need to go to the hospital first son, you were in a cave-in!" The patrolman exclaimed. "You look okay but no telling what kind of damage you might have where we can't see—"

"M-Mystery's the one b-b-b-bleeding out, get us to a v-v-v-vet now!" Arthur blurted, crawling into the back of the car.

"He's right, we aren't injured, but our dog got caught in the rockfall." Vivi slid in next to him. "Please, we'll come in to answer questions later."

Reluctantly, the patrolman drove them to the nearest 24-hour vet. Arthur barely waited for the car to pull to a complete stop before diving out, racing through the doors and shouting, "P-p-please, s-s-someone beat my d-d-dog, please h-help!"

And the hours after were a blur. Questions he couldn't recall the answers to that somehow got answered. Medical forms his hand was too shaky to sign that were signed Lewis. His hand moving to take Vivi's when all his thoughts were bent on Mystery, and not on the silent blue girl next to him.

Finally the vet came out. She was a kindly-looking middle-aged woman, her auburn hair shot through with streaks of silver and eyes like warm chocolate. "You bring in the battered dog?" She asked.

Arthur shot to his feet, then sank back down to the chair, hyperventilating. Vivi squeezed his hand and let go, standing. "Yes, that's us. How is he?"

"He'll live, but I want to keep him here for a couple days. He almost didn't make it, but I think the worst is over. You kids live in the area?"

"I don't know," Arthur muttered, gripping his head with his hands.

"I think so." Vivi pulled out her phone, checking their location. "Sorry, it's been a rough night, we're not sure where we are… about an hour away." She confirmed.

"Alright, if you can leave him with us for a couple of days we'll have him ready to go home then. Maybe try to come visit him, we'll need to talk to you about how to help him learn to adjust to losing a leg."

A thin giggle escaped Arthur. "Us teaching an ancient fox-beast how to recover, that's funny."

The vet shot a quizzical look at Arthur, but Vivi just put a hand on the vet's arm. "It's been a long night," she apologized, "We're tired, he's kind of out of it. We'll be back soon, our numbers are on the paperwork."

"I'm not leaving Mystery." Arthur stared down at the ground, eyes still wide.

Vivi hesitated, then sighed. "I'll talk to him. Thank you doctor…?"

"Doctor Noble."

"Thank you Doctor Noble. We'll be back soon."

The woman nodded, shaking Vivi's hand and casting a sympathetic glance at Arthur before turning to leave.

Vivi turned, her azure shoes clicking hard to a stop just within Arthur's view.

"Now you listen here," her voice was far from the steady, calm small-talk voice he had just heard her use. "Both of you."

Don't think about that.

"I just got whisked off by a giant fox—which is amazing—and taken to the cave where my boyfriend died—which was not—to find Arthur falling through the air to his death, and then I find out that everybody knows a lot more about that night in the cave than they ever told me and that. Is. Not. Okay. Now. I get Arthur's not stable, and some explanations have to wait. But Arthur M. Rebbs, you are leaving Mystery here. You are going home. You are going to _sleep_. You are going to _eat._ We will come back for Mystery soon, we'll visit him tomorrow if you want, but we are leaving this place."

Arthur withered under her diatribe, cringing back into his seat. He had no wherewithal to hold his own, and he felt a familiar misery creeping up on him.

His mouth opened, and someone else's voice came out.

"Viv, he's still a wreck. Gentle."

Vivi's breath caught. Her voice came out cracking. "I don't want to hear that from you. I don't know what _you_ did, but _I_ got to see him all this week. I got to go to his house earlier today and see his goodbye note on the end table, the one that said you were coming for him. I got to see him fall apart this week because of you, and that's not the Lewis I know and love."

A deep shame, not his own, welled up inside him. To his surprise, he felt pity for Lewis, but Vivi was right. He needed rest, he could barely walk as it was.

He spoke for himself again, his voice dry and whispery. "Viv… you're r-right… I… we'll… talk to you… I promise. B-but I…" His voice dropped off, and was picked up by Lewis.

"He needs rest."

"Then let's go." Vivi flicked her phone on. "I'll call us a car, and I'm calling in sick. This qualifies as a family emergency, and they can do without me for a few days."


	17. Of Skulls and Mozart

Arthur stared up at the ceiling from his bed. He lay flat on his back, clutching the edges of his covers like a child afraid of the monsters under his bed.

Between Vivi bracing him and Lewis taking control whenever he was about to drop to the ground screaming, his friends had gotten him back into his own house. Lewis had assumed full control only long enough to shed their filthy clothes and shower for Arthur, then dress in pajamas and settle him in bed.

Vivi had promptly taken up first aid duties. He'd lain there, unresponsive, just staring up as she picked gravel out of his face, washed the scratches, and taped a large gauze pad over his cheek. When he refused to answer any of her attempts to find out how he felt, she'd pulled the blankets up around him, grabbed an extra blanket herself, and settled into a giant beanbag in the corner of the room.

He refused to close his eyes longer than it took to blink. He kept himself completely silent, barely breathing, trying to keep his mind completely blank.

_Don't think about it. Don't think about it._

A deep sigh issued from his mind, and he flinched away from it. He felt something collecting itself out of him, and watched as a ghostly skeleton rose up out of his body, pulling completely out. It crossed the room to Vivi, hesitating a moment before touching her sleeping form lightly on the forehead.

"There." Lewis said. "Always sleeps like a rock, but just in case." He turned back to Arthur.

_Don't think about it. Don't think about it._

"It's just us." The skeleton seated himself at the end of the bed, cross-legged, staring at him.

_Don't think about it._

"None of those things you're trying not to think about will happen."

_Don't… don't think…_

"We'll do what I should have done first. Talk."

_Don't…. d…..don't…_

"Arthur."

"You died!" The words exploded out of Arthur like bullets before he could swallow them. "You died and I killed you!" Somewhere he knew he wasn't making sense, but he still couldn't sort things. "And I killed you but I didn't, but it was my fault!" His mouth hung open for a second, then he curled in on himself violently. "I opened the door and it killed you with me. I killed you, oh Lew…" His body shook. "I… I…" He slammed the release on his robotic arm and hurled it across the room. The arm sailed straight through Lewis and hit the wall behind him. "That arm!" He pointed after it, wildly. "Not that arm, the other one! It…" His eyes darted. "All the time. Every day I remembered. Every day what I did. Could have stopped it if I just… TOLD you, TOLD her."

"You don't know that." Lewis' voice was unexpectedly calm, which only drove Arthur to greater frenzy.

"Yes I do!" He ran a hand through his hair desperately. "Don't think you that I spent weeks out figuring… I… I thought… I thought about it all the time and how I could have done different…"

"That's what it wanted. It preyed on that. I saw, it made sure you thought about it every day." Lewis turned his head away. "I thought you pushed me, celebrated, and never looked back."

"Nnnnnn….nnnnnn…" Arthur wrapped his arm around himself, rocking and shaking his head, unable to complete the sound to negate Lewis' statement.

"You know me, Arthur." Lewis' voice was heavy with regret. "You know what happens when I get angry. When someone's hurt me, or I think someone has. I didn't see anything else. I didn't want to. There were probably a million signs I missed. And then I saw what he did to you the day before…" Lewis' hair flared brightly and his fists clenched. "Nobody should have to go through that. Ever."

Arthur shut his eyes, moaning.

Something warm touched his hand. He opened his eyes to see Lewis' bony knuckles bumping his.

"You screwed up." Lewis informed him. "But not as badly as me."

Arthur's eyes flicked from the knuckles up to Lewis' glowing eyes and back down to the knuckles. "I missed you." His voice was hoarse. "A lot."

"I was busy trying to kill you. But I would have missed you if I knew."

Arthur looked up to him again. "Ghosts… ghosts stay for unfinished business. If you knew…" He swallowed. "You wouldn't be… I wouldn't get to say…" He lunged forward, startling the skeleton by gripping him tightly in a one-armed hug. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry."

He felt Lewis' awkward pat, and almost laughed. _There_ was Lewis.

"You should sleep. You know Vivi's gonna pitch a fit if you don't."

Arthur tensed, pulling back. "I can't."

The skeleton studied him carefully. "You think you're going to-"

"Yes." Arthur's fingers knotted in the blanket. "Dream of falling."

Lewis tilted his head to the side, considering the situation. "That was the first time I ever possessed anyone, but maybe I can help? I don't need sleep. Maybe I can do something about the images."

Arthur hesitated. "Y-you won't make me… do things… unless I'm okay with it." He stated, half question, half plea.

"Never." Lewis promised quickly.

Arthur lay back down, his muscles still knotted with anxiety. "Okay."

He held his breath as Lewis returned to his body. Somewhere in the back of his mind, strains of Mozart started playing. He could feel his body relax, as he chuckled thinly. "Really? Mozart, that's the best you can do? It takes a lot more than that to put… me… to…."

* * *


	18. Handle With Caution

"Squire!" The cave was falling in on him, everything was cracking apart and crumbling, and somewhere Mystery was howling. "Squire!" He couldn't move his own body. Someone was holding his arms and the cave kept crumbling.

"SQUIRE!"

The cave vanished as his eyes shot open. There was no cave-in, just Vivi shaking him as hard as she could.

"V…v…v….v…"

"Vivi I just got him a little calmer last night!" Lewis complained from Arthur's mouth.

"It's an emergency!" Vivi dropped him and ran over to Arthur's clothes pile on the floor, grabbing a few things. "I woke up to four missed calls from the vet." She chucked her phone and a handful of froot-of-the-looms in various stages of cleanliness at his head.

"Arthur!" Lewis practically shrieked, clawing the underwear away. "You STILL don't wash them right away?"

After his right arm finished swatting away the pungent undergarments, he yanked it around to scoop up the phone, clicking straight to the voicemails and putting it on speaker. Doctor Noble's harried voice came on loud and clear.

 **You have four new messages. First new message:** Hello, Vivi? Doctor Noble here, we need you and your friend, ah what's on the paperwork… Lewis, to come back quickly. Mystery is starting to wake up, and he's showing signs of severe anxiety. Please call back. **End of first message. Second new message.** Hello Vivi? Doctor Noble again. We've had to sedate Mystery, he's not ready to be moving like he is and he's made three escape attempts, please call me soon. It might help him calm down to see you. **End of second message. Third new message.** Vivi? Vivi, what breed is this dog? Our normal sedatives aren't working! I don't want to have to pull out the larger tranquilizers but Mystery is beginning to display threatening behavior and he needs to be contained so no harm comes to our other patients. Call me now! **End of third message. Fourth new message.** VIVI YOU AND LEWIS NEED TO GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU LEFT HERE BUT YOU NEED TO COME GET IT! **End of fourth message. There are no new messages in your mailbox.**

Arthur clicked the phone off, turning to Vivi, eyes wide. "Was that Mystery snarling the background?"

"Sounded like it. I'll leave you two to get dressed, but hurry." She headed for the door.

Arthur swung one leg over the edge of his bed, fully intending to stand and dress himself. Instead he found himself flat on his back, hands gripping the bedspread, gasping.

"Squire!" Vivi was back at his side a second later. "What is it?" She peered at his face. "Is this that same thing as last night?"

Arthur shut his eyes tightly, allowing Lewis to answer for him. "It's pretty bad, Viv. He wants to get up but every time he does he has a panic attack."

"Because he was dropped from the ceiling of the cave?" Vivi guessed.

Arthur felt Lewis pause, weighing his answer. They both knew it was more than just what Vivi had seen, but the rest would have to come later. "Mostly, yes. Right now even the distance from his head to the floor is too far."

"Tea-snot, we don't have time for this! We have to get to Mystery! Squire, you have to stand!"

Arthur pushed himself to a sitting position, eyes still clenched shut, and slid his feet to the floor. His heart began to pound like a drum, and his breathing shortened, and he felt like he was rising up to a great height, lifted by something that was just waiting for the right moment to drop him screaming to the ground thousands of feet below—and then he was laying back on the bed again, jaw clenched, pounding the bed with a fist.

"Squire, I'm sorry, but we have to get to Mystery three hours ago. Can Lewis take over and get you there?"

"H-he has to." Arthur withdrew himself to allow Lewis space. He felt his limbs begin to move, and as his body rose to stand again, the panic set in. Only now his body kept moving and didn't fall back down. With every step the adrenaline poured into his system. Sweat broke out on his forehead as he bent over to pick up clean clothes. Vivi finally evacuated to call a car and let him dress, allowing Lewis to change their clothes, reattach the robotic arm, and then join her on the front porch.

As they descended the steps, Arthur began to lose feeling in his limbs, and even with Lewis in control his breathing was labored. Only when they'd loaded into the car did the anxiety begin to ease. He didn't think twice about laying down across the seats, even though it landed his head in Vivi's lap. He could feel Lewis tense.

"I'm s-s-sorry," Arthur muttered to both of them. "I need t-to lie d-down now."

Vivi put one hand on his head, addressing the driver. "Floor it and you'll get a big tip."

The drive was a blur. He could feel Lewis gauging him to see if he was pulling anything with Vivi, but all he wanted was to minimize the distance between him and the ground as much as possible.

The car screeched to a halt outside the vet's forty minutes later. Vivi swiped her card and scribbled an amount on the tip line that earned her a hearty thanks from the driver, before opening the door for Arthur. He pulled back again as Lewis assumed control, scooting out after Vivi.

He tried not to think about how every step a human took was really a tiny fall that was only caught and turned into forward motion through practice. He tried not to think about cracks in the sidewalk and uneven pavement and random jagged spikes that could be anywhere waiting to spear him through the gut, the chest, the side—

"You know those mental images aren't fun for me either, could we try and think of something else?" Lewis asked, his voice strained.

Arthur tried to think of something else besides spikes, but all he could come up with was cliffs and how high they were and how terrifying the feeling of hurtling through the air to plunge to your death was—

-Until he heard a roar from the building in front of them.

Mystery.

Suddenly he was moving his own feet, darting forward to grab at the door, wrenching it open. He could hear screams and growls from behind a door that said "Authorized personnel only." He plowed through it, darting down a hall and skidding to a stop outside an unmarked room. He yanked the door open, taking in the situation.

At one end of the room, dog-sized Mystery crouched behind the bars of a steel cage. His eyes glowed like burning stars and every hair on his body bristled as he roared, open-mouthed, spittle flying at the terrified Doctor Noble and the two handlers armed with tranq guns. Mystery's hide was peppered with moderate-sized-animal tranquilizer darts, each empty of its serum, and yet he still paced the cage like a trapped bear newly woken.

"YOU WILL TAKE ME TO ARTHUR!" Mystery roared in a voice like a rockslide, sinking his teeth into the steel. He drew back, shaking his head and grimacing, but he had left behind marks in the metal bars.

Doctor Noble had a cell phone to the side of her head. "Animal Control? I need to report—"

But that's as far as she got. Lewis abandoned Arthur's body, leaping out to clap a hand over Doctor Noble's mouth. The handlers next to her lost it, lunging for the door in terror. As they did, four purple ghosts flew out from Lewis' chest cavity, tripping up the handlers and holding them down.

Arthur was suddenly very aware of the distance between his head and the floor. He swayed slightly, but forced his eyes away from the shiny vinyl tiles over to the cage.

Mystery stood there, the glow gone from his eyes, just straining against the bars. No voice now, just frantic barking. Arthur turned to Doctor Noble, straining against Lewis' grip.

"Wh… where… where is the key?" His voice was thin, strung tightly between panic and determination. "I n-need to t-take my dog home."

Her eyes bulged in disbelief, shaking her head. Lewis' hands began to glow, and her eyes rolled back as she slumped. He gently lowered her to the ground. The little purple ghosts glowed as well, and the handlers ceased struggling, going slack and wide-eyed.

"Wh…wh…wh…?" Arthur pointed at them.

"They're fine. They just won't remember anything." Lewis tugged at his collar, glancing to the side. He reached into Doctor Noble's lab coat, fishing out a set of keys and tossing them to Arthur. "Go on."

Catching them, Arthur turned to shuffle slowly over to the cage. Gripping the bars tightly, he lowered himself to his knees where the lock was at eye-level, and began trying the keys. His hands were shaky and it took longer to work through the ring than he wanted, but finally the right one caught the tumblers, swinging the door back. Out bounded Mystery, piling into Arthur's chest and licking his face wildly for a moment, before pulling back and sniffing him, pawing at his eyes to peer into them and pressing an ear against his chest. It took Arthur a moment before he realized the dog was checking his vitals, and possibly more. He threw back his head and laughed, an edge of hysteria present.

"I'm f-f-fine. I'm o-okay… was that what this was a-a-all about?" Arthur giggled hysterically. "Y-you were worried a-about me?"

Mystery's ears drooped and he whined, burying his face in Arthur's chest.

"Y-you shouldn't worry about me, I'm o-okay, you're the one who…" Arthur pulled Mystery back, looking him over. Though his forehead seemed fine, there was a long hairless scar down the dog's side, and a thick bandage wrapped around the stump of his back leg. "…y-yeah."

"So, are we done here?" Arthur's head jerked up in time to catch Vivi's world-class city-leveling death-glare, the kind she reserved for special occasions. He'd only seen it once before, when a competing ghost-hunting team had crashed their stake-out for the fourth consecutive time that evening, and afterward they had never had trouble with that team again.

Even Lewis seemed a bit shocked, drifting slightly back from her. Her index finger shot out, pointing at the skeleton. "Did you deal with their memories like you just said?" Her voice was angry, but Arthur heard something more in her tone.

At Lewis' nod, the index finger swung around to Arthur. "Do we have what we need?" Arthur's head wobbled slightly. "Then Lewis, sign the paperwork and meet us outside at the car. Look normal if you can. We're going to pick up the van, and then we're going to have a long, long, long roadtrip where EVERYONE is going to EXPLAIN WHAT THE FUDGEBUCKETING CORN-FACED SPITWADDING DAFFODILLS IS GOING ON YOU THREE SONS OF MOTHERLESS GOATS! NOW MARCH!"


	19. The Talk - Vivi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to blame three people and a trainwreck post on Tumblr for the title of this chapter. If you're snickering right now, you know what's going on. If you're confused, just keep reading, it won't affect the content of this chapter. the characters belong to MysteryBen and Artsy. Also IS ANYONE ELSE PSYCHED THAT THE POSSESSED ARM JUST GOT ITS OWN CHARACTER PROFILE?

The silence in the car lay thick and heavy on all of them. Arthur had to sit straight up now that three of them crammed in the back of the car. Vivi sat in the middle, facing straight forward, simmering. Arther sat on the far left with Mystery on his lap, curled up against his chest.

Lewis sat on the far right, looking just as he had the day he died. He had, as requested, been able to walk out of the vet's with a semi-normal appearance. Closer inspection revealed black hollows where his eyes should have been-lit with glowing purple retinas—and a faint pinkish glow around his hair. He kept his head forward, hiding his eyes under his pompadour, but he couldn't keep them off of Vivi.

The driver had dropped them off outside the ruins of the cave and left after another tip from Vivi. Arthur had offered to pay this ride, but she had swiped her card extra hard and ignored him. Arthur kept his eyes on the ground as he stepped out of the car, trying very hard not to look at the rubble. He felt a warm grip on his shoulders steering him forward, and followed it, allowing Lewis to guide him to the van and into the backseat. Lewis slid into the front passenger seat as Vivi had already plunked herself in the driver's seat.

"Are you sure Vivi?" Lewis asked gingerly. "You're not the best driver when you're mad." He cringed back against the door as she turned her glare on him.

"Well Arthur's certainly not driving, and last I heard ghosts aren't legal drivers so BUCKLE UP." She yanked her seatbelt on and threw the van into gear, peeling away from the cave.

"So, I'll start." She bit out, as Arthur curled up in the backseat, clinging to Mystery. "On the day Lewis died, I remember going into that cave, and then coming to in the hospital. Arthur was next to me, his arm ripped off, and blood on Mystery's muzzle. They told me you were dead, and that Mystery had saved Arthur but mangled his arm in the process. Oh, I'm sorry, I told all this to Arthur already a few days ago and was lied to. Arthur, I hope you don't mind that I'm catching Lewis up to date with what I do and don't know."

Arthur cringed at the razor edge on her words.

"So after mysteriously losing my memory that in no way resembles how those vets just lost their memories whatsoever," It was Lewis' turn to wince at her accusation, "I spend a year trying to recover from the fact that the man I loved died a horrible death. I do alright, everything's going okay. Arthur, Mystery and I even get in a few good ghost stakeouts. Then one night we break down in front of a mansion and go in, and are greeted by your not-so-friendly singing minions. No warning note, no 'Hi Vivi it's me, Lewis!' nothing. Just running around your mansion like crazy and then having to stop you from murdering my best friend. Tell me something Lewis, was floating your heart at me supposed to remind me of something? I bet you it would have IF I REMEMBERED WHATEVER I SAW WHEN YOU DIED!"

Arthur could have sworn Lewis actually lost a few inches of height as Vivi continued on.

"So three days pass and I find out Arthur's starving himself and hasn't showered or anything, and then he gets all weird and wants to go on a ghost hunt until I mention things that I'm guessing reminded him far too much of the mansion. Tell me, you been haunting the Mundocani place lately Lewis?" She turned to take in his guilty expression, swerving all over the road. "Yeah, that's what I thought!" She turned back, barely avoiding a semi barreling down the road. Arthur unbuckled and slid to the floor of the van. He shut his eyes, moaning and curling up around Mystery.

"Then he yells at me, then he's writing his will, and when I confront him about it he kicks me AND Mystery out. By the way, NOT SORRY FOR PUTTING A CAM ON MYSTERY." She slammed her hands on the wheel as she screeched on the brake, fishtailing to avoid a coyote frozen in the middle of the road. "Then when Mystery makes a break for his house I get there and there's a goodbye note on the end table saying that you're going to go kill Arthur. And Arthur's gone, and Mystery is a wreck, tearing around the house looking for him. I call a car to take us around to his favorite spots, and we're driving around looking when suddenly I'm not in the car anymore! I'm on the back of some behemoth creature tearing out into the desert as fast as it can, and I have this sick headache and my head won't stop twitching, and we're at the cave all of a sudden where Arthur is falling to his death! Well, that would have been enough of a surprise in and of itself, but imagine my shock when Arthur's mouth opens and MY BOYFRIEND'S VOICE COMES OUT!"

"Vivi—" Lewis flailed at the windshield, barely alerting Vivi to the presence of a cactus directly in front of them. They were no longer on the road, and she plowed straight over it as she redirected them back.

"And it's my boyfriend saying he was there just to kill our friend! And I realize that everyone's either been lying or hiding things from me, but I don't crack yet because there's a giant fox fighting a demon and causing a cave-in, so I find us a safe place until the cave-in is over and the fox turns out to be Mystery, and we do some kind of weird mental voodoo to pull Arthur's sanity back together—AND DON'T YOU EVER THINK ABOUT TRYING TO DISAPPEAR LIKE THAT AGAIN BUSTER, YOU HEAR ME BACK THERE? You think GHOST haunting is bad, you've never been reverse-haunted by a pissed off paranormal investigator—so we do, and he can barely walk but we get Mystery to the vet. Do I crack? No! I put up with the fact that my dead boyfriend is inside my best friend and that my best friend needs to collect some sanity before I get an explanation!"

"OUT OF THE WAY YOU SUSHI-BREATHING SCARF-NECKED LUNGBLOWER!" She shouted at a slow driver as she passed, before continuing. "And then we have to run off and get Mystery cause he's a mysterious fox-beast from who knows when and when we get there Lewis is WIPING MEMORIES and Mystery is TALKING OUT LOUD and Arthur can barely stand and ARE WE DONE PLAYING HIDE THE TRUTH FROM VIVI YET BECAUSE I'M DONE GUYS!" She slammed on the brakes, the van screeching to a halt at the side of the road near a large desert bluff, accompanied by the smell of burning rubber. "I'M SO DONE!" She pounded the steering wheel again.

"Vivi—" Lewis began.

"What?!" Vivi rounded on Lewis, and Arthur could see thick tear tracks running down her face. "What is it you want to say?"

Lewis stared at her, his mouth slightly open as if he wanted to form words, but had suddenly forgotten how. His eyes were locked on the twin waterfalls on her cheeks, and he looked like he'd forgotten just about everything else.

Arthur knew that expression. He murmured weakly from the back, "He's s-s-sorry Vivi… we both are… w-w-w-we s-screwed up b-b-big. It g-got all t-twisted. We'll t-tell you…" he felt a wave of nausea as he forced the last of the sentence, "…everything… p-promise."

She turned forward again, taking a few deep breaths. Lewis carefully pulled on the emergency brake, pulled the key from the ignition, and tapped on Vivi's shoulder.

She didn't even pause before ripping off her buckle and launching across the seat, clinging to Lewis' startled form and sobbing into his shoulder. "You idiot. You idiot." She managed. "You big dead idiot."

Lewis closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around Vivi tightly, his hair glowing brighter. Vivi's tears raged on for a long time, but Lewis just held her. Arthur felt something pulsing gently in his pocket and reached in, sliding out a glowing metal heart, cracked down the front.

Before he could ask why it was in his pocket, Vivi pulled back, wiping her face vigorously. "Come on." She muttered. "I want to hear from everyone, so let's get behind the bluff over there."

"Why stop here in the middle of nowhere?" Lewis asked.

"Call it a hunch but I never hear Mystery talking as a dog unless he's enraged. Something tells me he needs space to stretch out and tell his story, and we don't need some crazy tourist phoning in a giant fox." She opened the door, hopping out of the van.

Lewis shrugged. "She has a point." He glanced down to Arthur. "Need a hand?"

"I can't move." Arthur shivered, slipping the heart back into his pocket.

Sighing, Lewis slipped into Arthur's body. "I know, she's a scary driver. We'll make sure one of us takes the wheel on the way back. Or both of us. She won't drive on the way back, I promise."

"You talk a l-lot more now that y-you're dead. I've n-never heard this m-many words out of y-you when you weren't t-talking about your music." Arthur muttered as they left the van, still holding Mystery.

"Death changes a lot of things," Lewis mused, "Someday, maybe you'll understand."


	20. The Talk - Arthur

It was a short walk around back of the bluff. As soon as they got there, Vivi settled down on a flat-topped rocky outcropping. Lewis sat Arthur down and scooted out of his body to sit next to him, skeletal again. Arthur immediately hit the ground, folding up onto his side. He tilted his head so he could face the group, but remained laying down. Mystery stayed put in Arthur's arms.

"Skeleton?" Vivi gestured curiously.

"Looking normal costs me more energy." Lewis answered.

"So," Vivi crossed her arms, "You know what I do and don't know now. Who's first?"

Lewis' eyes shifted over to Arthur, and Arthur groaned. He had the feeling he would have to be the first one.

"M-me, I guess." He shut his eyes for a moment, taking a few deep breaths. "V-vivi… just don't…" _don't hate me, please._ "…don't fly off the h-handle."

He sucked in a long breath and blurted, "I… I really like you Vivi."

"Duh Arthur, I like you too." She rolled her eyes. "That's what best friends—oh." Her eyes widened. "….oh…"

Arthur fixed his eyes on Mystery's fur, unable to meet her eyes. "F-for a long time. But you a-and Lewis… and you were s-so happy. And s-so was he… but I w-wasn't. And th-that night we went in the cave and got split up. There were just two paths Vivi. One up, one down." He took a deep breath. "Lewis leaned over the edge to see. And for just a second… I wondered if I would get a chance with you if I pushed him.

"I threw it out a second later, I never would have done it. But I felt something change. My arm moved by itself, shoving Lewis…" Arthur's body shuddered, and Mystery whined at the tight grip on him. "And I watched him fall on those… and it was going to take the rest of me, whatever took my arm was spreading. And suddenly this giant beast is standing over me, and my arm is hanging from its mouth and I don't have my arm anymore… but I had control back."

"So I ran to find you, and you had this blank look on your face. I phoned for help and got us to the opening before I passed out. I woke up in the hospital and you were still catatonic. They told me they'd recovered Lewis' body…" his voice trailed off for a few seconds.

"What was I supposed to tell the police? I was possessed, I would never have done that to my best friend? What was I supposed to tell you? Sorry Viv, I was jealous and because of that your boyfriend's dead, can we make out now?" He shook his head. "I just… I tried to move on. But then the mansion… and the second his hair lit up I knew… and I knew he'd come back for me. And I knew I deserved it."

"So yeah, I sat there waiting for him to come get me, but you had to come crash that plan. I would have tried to pick up and move on again, but Lewis came and told me I had one week, then vanished. So I tried to put things in order, get one more ghost bust in, and do whatever a dead man walking would do. He…" He glanced at Lewis. "He visited a couple of times. I wasn't always in the best frame of mind afterward."

Lewis was staring down at the sands.

"You know the r-rest. Wrote my will, visited Lewis' grave to spill my guts and apologize. I knew you'd b-be back after I kicked you out, so I left for the cave. I didn't know why I wanted to go to the cave, I thought it was just poetic justice. But when I got there, I'd just settled in when my arm started acting up." He gestured at his robotic limb. "I pulled it off, and suddenly I was being dragged across the cave, but the force was coming from inside the stub of my arm. I think… I think Mystery didn't get all of whatever it was. I think there was some leftover, hiding out. It dragged me to the bones of my arm, and when I touched it that thing took over me completely."

"Then it was in my mind and it knew my thoughts and I knew its thoughts, and this all happened because it was bound to the cave, and could only leave if innocent blood that was full of shame got spilled in revenge. Well, if I didn't really push Lewis myself I'm technically innocent. But it's my fault that thing got in, so I was ashamed, and whatever part of that demon thing leftover in me had been making sure I stewed on it all year. The last part was supposed to happen when Lewis came back to kill me.

"So then Lewis came and—"

"Don't skip over that part, Arthur." Lewis interrupted.

Arthur fell silent a moment, knowing which part Lewis was referring to. "Lew, if you want to tell that part you can, but I don't want t-t-to say it. It's b-b-bad enough I have to have th-that in my head forever."

Lewis inclined his head in acknowledgement and let it pass.

"Lewis came, and I was s-sure he was going to kill me. But he tricked the demon out of me and took over instead. The d-demon knew it had lost cause L-lewis knew my thoughts and my memories, so it tried to kill us. It almost did, but then Mystery…" He hugged the dog tightly to his chest. "I s-still don't know what you are bud… but thank you."

Mystery licked his chin gently.

"I th-think you know the rest Vivi."

"Why didn't you say something, Arthur?" Vivi's voice was low. "I could have helped. We could have talked to Lewis together."

Arthur finally raised his eyes. "Viv, he almost didn't stop at the mansion. If he'd killed you because he was trying to get to me, and you got in the way again… I couldn't survive that too."

"You weren't planning on surviving anyway." She shifted, but sighed in acknowledgement. "But I get you didn't want to take anyone else down with you. You're still a moron. But I get where you're coming from." She stood, walking over and crouching down. "But Arthur?"

"Y-yes?"

"If you ever pull the 'I've-got-this-and-I-don't-need-to-tell-Vivi-what's-going-on-cause-I'm-going-to-die-soon-anyway' deal again I'll personally tie you into a big orange ribbon to hang on my Christmas tree. Understand?"

A small smile lifted the corner of his mouth. "Und-derstood."

"Good." She stood, dusting her skirt off before returning to the rock. "Okay Lew." Her voice was a little less steady. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, it's kind of a rehash, but I really think each character needs to say what happened to them, even Arthur. WE know what happened, but the other three don't have all the pieces, and this is them laying all their puzzle pieces out. And yes, the chapter title lives on.


	21. The Talk - Lewis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I will hammer the title of this chapter in until they've all gone. You know who you are, and you will suffer with me.

"Everything hurt." Lewis' voice was quiet as he recalled the night in the cave. "By the time I realized I'd been pushed, I was already half-dead. I _wanted_ to die, everything was broken and ripped and I knew I'd never come back from it. I'd never felt anything like it before. My head rolled to the side and I saw you staring at me, Vivi."

Arthur buried his face in Mystery's fur. He'd always suspected Vivi saw Lewis die, but confirmation still lashed his conscience. When he looked up, Lewis was no longer sitting down. He was in front of Vivi, holding her face in his hands and staring at her like he hadn't just been sitting with her, hadn't just been yelled at by her. Like he hadn't seen her in a year.

"I could feel myself going. But the look on your face… I wanted to make it go away. I wanted you to not have seen what you saw. I wanted it with every fiber of my being. To have to hold a memory like that… it crushes a person. It changes them." He brushed a lock of hair away from her face. "I didn't want you to change like that."

Arthur heard a sniff from Vivi. Again, he couldn't help wondering what stories had passed between them, how Lewis knew about such memories changing a person, but it was not the time to ask.

"And then… I can't explain it, but there was a flash, and your memories were in my hands. All of them, your whole life laid out right there. And you looked so frightening, like a zombie standing there. A very pretty zombie," he added hastily, "But… lifeless. I took the last five minutes and placed the rest back in your head. I don't know how I knew how to do it, but I did. I think I didn't do the best job though, because you didn't snap out of it, you just stood there. That's when I realized I was standing in front of you, and not lying dead and impaled."

He dropped his hands from her face, half-turning back to Arthur.

"Then Arthur came. He was bleeding, and I didn't get why HE was bleeding, but he grabbed you and jerked you away. I don't think either of you could see me at that point. And I didn't know what to do, because when I turned around there I was lying on a spike, but I wasn't in myself. And then I remembered I'd been pushed. Then…" Lewis paused, then leaned forward, extending his hands to either of them. Arthur felt the warm, bony hand settle over his forehead as he saw Lewis' other hand rest on Vivi's forehead. And then memories that were not his own poured into his mind.

….

Hours, days, then weeks spent wandering the cave floor, replaying every second, wondering why.

_Why._

They came and took his body away.

_Why._

He was left in the dark, alone and forgotten.

_Why._

The only remnants, a spike covered in dried blood. A few shreds of cloth. A silver locket.

_Vivi. That is why. That's why he killed me._

And then the rage came, the all consuming, howling rage that lit the cavern, licking every spire and spike with pink flames of bereavement and fury.

 _Traitor_.

And then he searched. He didn't have to search long, they'd gone back home, back to their normal lives. Vivi looked a little thinner, a little more haggard, but was plunging ahead with her ghost hunting. Mystery seemed to tense up whenever he was near, but he couldn't manifest to their eyes yet. And Arthur…

Arthur had a mechanical arm for some reason. He didn't care why, he hoped it hurt. He wanted nothing more than for Arthur to suffer. He tried to kill him the day he found them, but could not manifest.

He had to learn how to do that. They'd been on dozens of haunts with so many levels of ghosts, and there had been plenty that were visible and able to manipulate the world around them. Surely he could learn as well.

And so he went to the Mundocani house. He watched the other spirits that stayed there—it truly was a magnet of sorts—and observed how they were able to manifest, manipulate their surroundings, and even create full blown illusions. One particularly powerful ghost had even created a temporary reality that faded once her energy had been spent. The image of the entity was blurred out, as if Lewis didn't want them to see who it was.

This one he had cornered, begging her to teach him how to do that. She consented, being a vengeance-seeker herself. He needed a physical object to anchor his presence to, she said, and he would have to draw on the strength of memories attached to the object for his strength.

"Who is that?" Vivi's voice broke into the memory.

"I will not say her name." He said quietly. "She attached herself to the concept of her name, it calls her and feeds her power, and she is not a friend of the living. I can't even show you her face, you might remember her and say her name. Trust me Vivi, it's better not to remember this one."

Finding an anchor was no trouble. He returned to the cave. The locket Vivi had given him had fallen from the pocket when they moved his body. He anchored his spirit to it, and left, the object now a part of him.

He practiced a few times, outlining exactly what he would do to Arthur once he had him. But he hadn't counted on the strength of the pull from the locket. His thirst for revenge continued to be muddled by the urge—no, the need—to see her again.

So when the mansion went up that night, what was supposed to be a deathtrap for Arthur, he began to call them. The locket—now his own heart—beat with the call.

_Come, Traitor._

_Come, Vivi._

_Come, Traitor._

_Come, Vivi._

And that night they came, all of them, their heads bobbing in time with the call, with his heart. He could feel them in the upper levels of the mansion, and sent small dispersions of himself up to herd them deeper in.

He'd almost had Arthur. He'd seen it in the scum's face, he _knew._ He _recognized_ him, and he ran to save his wretched hide. He'd been so furious, he barely noticed someone had joined Arthur in running from his rage, until she threw herself directly in his path.

_Vivi._

He could see with one look at her face, she didn't recognize him, and all she could see was a monster about to kill her friend. She didn't know he was a traitor. She didn't know he was a murderer.

_Vivi._

His heart was beating toward her. Where was his anger? It was gone. All he could see was her face staring at him, her hands reaching out to take the heart that was moving toward her… and then she was gone. Arthur was taking her away. Again.

And then it was back, and it was flooding the mansion with light and flame. He hoped it burned that filth to a crisp.

_But Vivi…_

He raced to the window. Arthur had made it out, and so had Vivi and Mystery. He'd frightened Vivi away…

…

He removed his hands from their heads, keeping his face down. "I was spent from so much activity. I could barely move for three days, but the first chance I got to manifest, I went straight back to Arthur. I told him just how long it would take me to get enough strength to wring his scrawny neck, and left. I figured he would throw together some gadget to combat me, so I rested, and did some mild haunting to stay in practice."

"The Mundocani place?" Vivi asked, subdued.

"Yes. I came back to Arthur once. He'd just walked into the house, and he was shouting about something. I wanted to scare him. So I pulled a few tricks, writing on the ground in ink and rolling his traveling alarm clock around." He paused for a moment. "I didn't know… but now that I do, I'm not proud of that Arthur. I wrecked you pretty badly that day. I saw…"

Arthur didn't respond, biting his lip.

"At the end of the week, I put out the call again. This time, I made sure to only target Arthur, but he wasn't coming. I could feel where he was though, and it only made me angrier. I couldn't fathom why he was back at the cave, unless he had some sick trap set up for me, but I knew I could handle him. So I went to the cave."

"When I got there Vivi, there was a half-eaten snack and an abandoned flashlight on the ground."

Vivi stiffened. "Arthur would never—"

"I know." Lewis nodded. "I found a notebook on the ground, telling me he knew I was coming for him, and that it was ok… just to please make it easy on you somehow. I still thought it was a trap, but I started wondering if I had all the information I needed. Still, I went on with every intention of killing him… but when I saw him everything was _wrong._ From his eyes to the smile on his face to the way he just calmly sat there, I knew on the spot it was not Arthur."

"Whatever it was kept enticing me to kill him, putting itself right on the same ledge I fell from and inviting me to do the same to him. Something was wrong. I wanted Arthur dead so badly, but I had a reason. Why was this thing wanting the same? I had to know, and for that I had to hear from Arthur. So I told it what it wanted to hear, that I wanted to see Arthur's face as he died, I wanted to see him KNOW who killed him and why. It was more than happy to oblige, and left."

"Gods Vivi…" Lewis covered his face with his hands. "The state he was in… he couldn't even speak. He was contorting on the ground like he'd forgotten how to move. It had been DOING things to him, and I forgot to be angry for a moment. And in that moment I knew something was more than a little wrong, it was VERY wrong. But that thing was waiting for me to kill him, and I got the sense if I didn't act soon it would reclaim Arthur."

"I'd never tried possessing before, but it was all I could think of to do. And the minute I was in… I saw everything Vivi… and more."

Arthur's eyes unfocused, and he hummed quietly, trying to distract himself from this part of Lewis' story.

"Yeah, he's broken from the fall from the cave roof, but only because it was the last straw. That demon had him a full day before I got to him, Viv. And it put him through falling from the cave the entire time in his mind. You pushed him. I pushed him. Mystery pushed him. His parents. The police. Sometimes he was just flying across the cave for no reason before he hit. But he felt everything over and over, for a whole day."

There was silence, broken only by Arthur's erratic humming. Then footsteps drawing close to him, and a pair of blue-clad arms pulled him into a sitting position and wrapped around him tightly from behind.

"Squire." Her voice was choked. "Oh Squire."

Arthur stopped humming, one arm releasing Mystery to cling to Vivi's arm. He wanted to reassure her, say something to let her know that he would really be okay again someday, but his words weren't working and his mind was still back in the cave, plummeting.

"At that point, the demon started attacking us. Arthur couldn't really… so I took over and ran us away. It almost tore me out, but Arthur accepted me there. Saved me back. It dropped us from the cave ceiling, and that's when we were saved by… well." Lewis turned his gaze on the dog in Arthur's arms.

Mystery was intently studying a small plant growing nearby. Vivi released Arthur from her embrace, still propping him upright against her shoulder. "I guess it's… Mystery's turn?"

Mystery continued to focus on the plant.

"Y-you h-heard her bud." Arthur managed, letting go and scooting Mystery away from him a bit. "S-secret's out, time to hear y-your story, so go on and get b-bigger or whatever it is you have t-to d…"

He hadn't even finished his sentence when the dog began to swell, his body elongating and growing taller, wider, thicker all around. He began to sprout tails. Two, three, four, five, six of them. Ten seconds later, he stood before them at full size, twice as tall as Arthur when standing, just at the snout, the same somber expression on his face.

Vivi's hands tightened on Arthur's arm, and Arthur swallowed hard.

"S-so. I th-think you h-have the most to explain. Wh-what's this all about?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can anyone guess the other-fandom-ghost who made an appearance here? She won't be cropping up again, but wanted to leave a reference there. Taught Lewis the ropes.


	22. The Talk - Mystery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About 50% of Tumblr and FFnet guessed correctly, yes. Ember taught Lewis the ropes. Wattpad, y u so quiet? I see your views readers, no guesses? Ah well. Next time!

Mystery settled onto the sandy ground, raising a puff of dust as he did. Arthur's eyes traveled back to Mystery's hindquarters, and saw that his hind leg was still missing. He didn't know why he'd hoped for different. Vaguely he wondered what it would take to get working prosthetics for both forms.

"There is not much to tell." Mystery's mouth worked slowly, his lips and tongue moving with care as if he were unused to human speech. "In the cave one year ago I knew something was wrong with the place, but I failed to see the signs until it was too late. All I could do was relieve Arthur of his possessed limb."

Arthur's eyes narrowed slightly. Mystery hadn't looked at him once, and still seemed to be studying the ground.

"After that, I just stayed near. He started talking to me more since he knew I was more than a dog, but I do not speak in that form."

"You sure did at the vet's." Vivi mumbled.

"I was on the verge of transformation. Had you been a few seconds later, a giant hole in the building would have marked my exit. I had no way of telling that Arthur was safe, and in his state I cannot afford to leave his side, even if I am injured."

"His state?" Lewis scratched his skull. "He's a little fragile but we put him back together."

Mystery shook his head slowly. "He is more than fragile right now. His soul itself is badly wounded. One does not suffer malevolent possession and escape unscathed. It is not something that can be seen, but even now it is like blood in the water, and sharks for miles around can smell him."

Arthur's eyes widened, his throat closing. "Y-y-you mean…"

"Yes." Mystery's voice was deeply unhappy. "You could be taken over again, quite easily, and you are in fact a greater target now. I had to be back with you again as soon as possible. To keep you safe."

Arthur wrapped his arms around himself. The thought that he could be retaken at any moment was horrifying. "H-How long before I s-stop bl-bleeding in the water?"

"It could take years. The soul is not like the body, it takes a much longer time to heal."

Arthur swallowed. "Wh-y do _you_ have to k-keep me safe?"

"I'm sure you would like to understand several things that happened." Mystery turned quickly to Lewis, as if Arthur hadn't spoken. "The memories that were suddenly in your hands, for example. Or how you knew the way to show them your memories just now, you never wondered?"

Lewis stared up at the fox, expectantly.

"I've watched humans pass on before. Some of them remained as ghosts with unfinished business, not unlike yourself. Their powers always varied, each vastly different from the next. I questioned some, and came to find their power was often connected to their final thoughts, their last wishes if you will. You wanted for Vivi to not have seen your death, so you'll note you have interesting abilities regarding peoples' memories. Likewise, your lifelong anger has manifested as a weapon."

"What about these?" Lewis raised his hands, two purple ghosts flying out of his chest cavity and circling him. "They come when I need them, what are they?"

"I would say manifestations of your subconscious." Mystery raised his eyebrows as one circled Vivi, settling on her shoulder and nuzzling her until she turned bright pink. "That much is rather obvious."

Flustered, Lewis quickly recollected them.

"When I was looking for Arthur the other day with Vivi, I heard the distress call you put out. Not targeted, just a call for help. I was able to find you, and there you have it." Mystery casually licked his forepaw. "That is all there is."

"B-b-bullcrap."

Mystery's tongue froze, then retreated into his mouth. "You think I am lying, Arthur?"

"Bullc-crap that that's 'all there is.'"

"Squire's right." Vivi shook her head. "There's a lot more you have to explain. What are you? Where did you come from? When were you going to tell us? What can you do? What was that thing in the cave?"

"Wh-why do you have to protect me?" Arthur returned to his question.

Mystery still refused to look at Arthur. "I firmly believe some things in life should remain a mystery. Perhaps this is something you should learn to get used to."

Arthur pulled away from Vivi. "L-lew. H-hand please."

Blinking, Lewis extended a hand. Arthur took it, using it to pull himself up, very carefully, before forcing himself to let go. Mystery's eye slid around to the corner, watching him sideways as he weaved slightly on his feet.

"Wh-why won't you look at me?" Arthur asked, focusing on Mystery and not on the fact that he was farther from the ground than he cared to be. "You're al-always looking at me, or letting me hold you, or jumping on me or m-making contact. Why w-won't you look at me?" Almost immediately the eye slid forward and away again. "S-see, you're doing it a-again. You're h-hiding things. M-mystery you're a giant fox—"

"Kitsune." He corrected mildly.

"Giant kitsune, and y-you ex-xpect us to not ask you a-about it?"

"You can ask. That is perfectly acceptable. I can choose not to tell." He continued licking his forepaw.

"Touching, you're so open with those you claim to keep safe."

At the sound of the fifth voice, everything changed. Arthur crumbled to the ground, shaking. Lewis grabbed Vivi, jerking her close to Arthur and standing in front of them. Mystery was on his feet, snarling and roaring, "Not possible!"

There, at the top of the bluff they sheltered behind, sat another kitsune. Its fur was a sickly green from ears to tails, and its belly covered in scales. A pair of wings lay flat against its sides, folded close to the body, and an amused grin lit its features.

"Oh, very possible, _Mystery._ " The mirror kitsune dripped the name derisively. "You left a loophole behind with me. One that was not thought of by our captor. And now," It stood to its heavily taloned paws, "I am free of my bonds. And you are not. So," He slid slowly down the bluff, still grinning. "Now that I am at full power, and you are not, I would like to thank you personally for trying to end me. But first, I think your friends want to know a little more about _who you really are._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *stares at the screen*… you weren't supposed to be back… the frick… WHO'S RUNNING THIS ANYWAY?


	23. The Talk - The Spirit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well frick… OKAY I DIDN'T PLAN THIS STUFF I SWEAR some of it BUT NOT MOST OF IT it just kind of… happens… plot HAPPENS to me okay? I only have vague control of the direction I can nudge it in!

It was hardly a breath before Mystery launched over their heads at the imposter, fangs bared and eyes flashing like fire. The Spirit dodged, almost lazily. Rebounding off the bluff, Mystery twisted himself about to pounce again.

The Spirit took the brunt of Mystery's blow to its shoulder, but barely flinched while the kitsune staggered back, completely dazed.

"Please, continue the futility." The Spirit grinned. "Is this what being human-bound does? Addles your brains, I say. You know you cannot win now that I'm unbound and you are bound."

"Take them and flee!" Mystery howled at Lewis, lunging again and clamping his teeth around the spirit's foreleg.

"But what would be the point in that?" The spirit lifted its foreleg, whipping Mystery off like he was an insect. "As he so masterfully explained, you have a bleeding soul with you. How do you think I found you so quickly? Locating you again would be no trouble."

"G-get out of here!" Arthur shouted at Lewis and Vivi from the ground. "He c-can't smell you if-f I'm not there, just g-go!"

Lewis turned to Vivi, but she planted her feet, fists clenched. "If you for one moment think about doing what I think you're thinking about doing I will punt your skull so far you'll spend the next ten years looking for it. You," She pointed at him. "Stand Arthur up, we're getting out of here _together._ And we'll figure this out _together._ "

As Lewis turned to him, Arthur shouted, "Lewis, don't you d-d-dare! It'll come a-after V-v-v-v… you know it will!"

Lewis stood there, eyes wide, torn.

"TAKE THEM YOU FOOL GHOST!" Mystery bowled Lewis over with his tails, breathing heavily. "ALL OF THEM!"

Arthur shouted, "I WON'T LEAVE M-MYSTERY, HEAR ME LEW? I WON'T L-LET YOU MOVE RIGHT, I'LL S-S-STOP YOU, I'LL RUN R-R-RIGHT BACK!"

"ARTHUR YOU MOP-BRAINED TOP-HEAD!" Lewis scooped Vivi up. "DON'T JUST LIE THERE RUUUUuuuunnn…." Her shout faded out as Lewis blazed away across the desert.

"I'll kill him again!" Mystery snarled, taking a stand directly over Arthur.

"Don't blame the ghost, Mystery." The Spirit chortled. "It isn't _his_ responsibility to keep your human safe. Tell me, Arthur," it addressed him suddenly, and Arthur shuddered at the sound of his name in the creature's mouth. "When did Mystery come into your life?"

"SILENCE!" Mystery roared.

"Has he _always_ been there? Did your father tell you how he played with Mystery as a child, and you just accepted it?"

Mystery crouched low, his belly brushing Arthur, and rumbled a warning growl.

"Of course, now that you know he's now what he seems it would make sense, but how long has he been with your family line?" The Spirit thrust its head forward, practically drooling, "How old is your family line, Arthur?"

Mystery leaped for the Spirit's face, snapping his jaws on its snout. The Spirit shook him free and turned on Mystery, grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and slamming him against the rocks. Mystery yelped as he came down on the outcroppings over and over again, his body going limp in the Spirit's grip. The Spirit dropped him in disgust, placing a paw on his neck to keep him down.

"You're going to die today, Arthur." It stared at him in disdain. "Have the decency to face it at least sitting if you can't stand. You were perfectly ready to take it from Lewis."

Arthur's body contracted in on itself, recoiling from the prospect of doing anything other than being in a tiny ball.

"You don't need him!" Mystery rasped. "You're free, just leave!"

"I don't need him," the Spirit agreed. "But his ancestor's advisor did so care for this family line, enough to bind us on their behalf. It would be a pity to leave the line unbroken."

Arthur clenched his jaw, turning inward for a moment to sort his rapidly scattering thoughts.

_I am going to die today._

_Lewis is safe._

_Vivi is safe._

_Mystery is probably going to die today._

_This creature is going free._

_I want to know as much as I can before I die._

_I am going to die._

_I don't have to die cringing._

Slowly, he planted his mechanical hand on the ground, then his real one. He felt the grains of sand under his hand as he pushed himself up, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He pulled a leg around to brace against the ground, then slowly pushed upward. Every inch he rose was a torment, he could see the ground falling away as he stood to his feet.

_Any second it will throw me down to my death._

The sweat rolled off his forehead and down his face, his breathing came in gasps. The Spirit was staring at him, green eyes measuring him with cold loathing. He stood, slightly hunched, legs spread wide for balance, wheezing. He forced his mouth to work, to engage the Spirit, to find out more before the end.

"Wh-what. Is all this. Talk. About my family line?"

"It finally speaks," the Spirit mocked. "Perhaps some spine is left. I do not mind telling you, as Mystery has tried so hard to keep it from you."

"Don't!" Mystery twisted, trying to bite the Spirit, but shrieked as its claws dug into his neck.

"Your line is very old, and quite prestigious." It purred, its tails sweeping back and forth. "I have been in your mind, and you have never much cared for legends and literature, but even you have heard of King Arthur and his advisor, Merlin. You who are called 'Squire.'"

Arthur's eyes widened, and he fought the urge to drop to his knees.

"I see that you see. Yes, you are descended from that line, that of the wretched king. How the line has fallen," it spat at him, "He was a human worm but at least he wore his kingship with pride and courage. You couldn't even lick his boots in his pre-kingship days."

"Wh-what does that have t-to do with Mystery?" Arthur demanded, trying to set this information aside to process later… if there was a later.

"Now there, there is the part Mystery would give anything for you not to know." The Spirit's grin stretched its features grotesquely as the kitsune writhed under its claws. "That he and I were nearly the same. We had different forms, but we were a fantastic team, he and I. Together we demanded of the human realm all we could ever want. Tribute. Worship. Sacrifices. When we were displeased, which was often, we drove them mad. Murderous. Insane. We parched their crops and flooded their homes, sweeping their livestock with disease or parasite as we pleased. None could stand against us, for who can stand against gods?"

Arthur turned his eyes down to Mystery, his heart skipping to a halt. Mystery? The Mystery he had played with as a child?

"Children thrown to their deaths for our amusement."

The one that had licked every scrape, comforted him through every nightmare?

"Lovers fighting to the death for a chance to survive."

The one that refused to give up on him even when he'd long given up on himself?

"Fathers slaying their family for promises of wealth we never honored."

His Mystery had done these things?

The Spirit's lips pulled back farther than they should have been able to, past the teeth and past the gums in a fearsome display of rage. "Then the wretched advisor, Merlin, came before us. Whatever unholy power he wielded, wherever he gained his power, it was not of this world. We fled, but he followed. We crossed deserts and oceans, whole continents, but he was always there when we dropped to rest. He brought us to our knees, and pronounced judgment over us, that we were to be bound. He allowed us to choose our fate, whether it be to stone or flesh. I would rather die than be bound to something so frail, so I chose stone."

"The sorcerer told me under what conditions I would be free, certain of himself that they could not be fulfilled and that he could warn enough people away from the cave to keep it so. He was a fool, for I had centuries to devise a way."

"This worm," Its claws dug deep into Mystery's neck, and it lashed the kitsune's side with another set of claws. Mystery howled as the claws tore at him, and Arthur's heart cracked. "This traitor chose human-binding. Was it that you thought you could kill them and be free faster?" the Spirit rasped a laugh. "Merlin bound you to Arthur's lineage before my eyes. Said that you could not regain your form unless your masters commanded, or you judged them to be in great danger. Tell me, did you scent me that night in the cave? Did you even recognize me as I took your human?"

Mystery gasped for air, the talons squeezing his windpipe.

"You are fortunate I needed him alive awhile longer, or I would have slain him on the spot for your meddling." It returned its attention to Arthur. "The very idea that he would choose to be subservient to such a pathetically weak and worthless species is insulting enough, but that he defends the weakest link of the line so ardently…" He snapped his jaws on Mystery's snout hard.

_So much blood._

Mystery no longer struggled, his head falling limp as the Spirit released his snout. "So, now you see. He may act like some household _pet._ But he is every inch what I am, he has only tried to forget. But he is soft now, soft and weak because of you." It lifted its claws from Mystery and stepped toward Arthur, who locked his legs to keep from falling. "And he _allowed_ this to happen to himself." The Spirit's eyes burned, its words like ice. "I would have him see your soul sucked from your body before he expires, to know how utterly he failed."

Mystery came alive behind the Spirit, staggering to three legs and snapping his jaws shut on a mouthful of tails. The Spirit whirled around, slamming Mystery against the rocks again. It stood over Mystery, roaring, "YOU ARE NOT FIT TO EXIST ANYMORE!" as it raised its talons high.

And suddenly Arthur's legs were moving, pumping harder and faster than he thought they could. He could see the talons coming down, and screamed at the top of his lungs, "BE SMALL!"

Instantly the kitsune shrank, returning to dog form, but the talons were closing in. Arthur threw himself, knocking Mystery out of the way. He felt his momentum arrested by a talon piercing his body, tearing flesh and slicing vitals. He tried to breathe, but couldn't draw air. His vision blurred as it slid out of his body. White light was flashing everywhere, and something was screaming. He couldn't feel anything anymore. Was Vivi screaming? Something warm. Purple. Darker. Air, why couldn't he get… any…

* * *


	24. Not a God

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fine, take the wheel then guys, but you'd BETTER FIX THIS.

It's worse than the day I was bound. I remember it, nearly all my power compressed, like taking the sun and stuffing it into an ale mug and corking the top with lead. The confinement of myself nearly drove me mad in those first days, all I could do was run in circles without stopping, wailing and shrieking like a newly-made spirit because I did not know how I would survive as such a weak creature. Surely every spirit on the continent would know I was helpless and come devour me.

Merlin watched me run for days before I finally collapsed, unable to move anymore. He picked me up, and somehow returned us to the King's domain. I knew it was all a farce, binding me to this lineage. The King had sent many good knights against us and lost them all. We had even turned his bride against him in return, laughing at the heartbrokenness her treachery caused, the division in the kingdom. He would slay me and be done with it.

But to my shock, Merlin placed me in the King's lap and said only that he had found Arthur a guardian, one that would protect him at all costs. That I should not be underestimated, but cared for as a dear friend. That I would guard his line from danger. He then spoke to me, so that only I could hear, that when the time came, and one of Arthur's line risked their own life to save mine, that I would be freed.

And it all comes roaring back, as the sun blasts out of the ale mug and rises into the sky, blazing with power. And I howl with anguish, for Arthur is not moving and there is too much blood.

That filth spreads his wings and flies at me now, recognizing true threat, but this time he is the one tossed off like a fly. This time when I rear over him and sink my teeth into his shoulder, I taste blood and my teeth hit bone. He tries to claw at me, but I whip him around, the sun in my belly and raging with a fire I didn't know existed. I throw him down and lift him up and throw him down again, clawing the scales from his foul hide and bashing his head against his precious stone.

From the corner of my eye, I see a flash of purple and another of blue. I have no time to wonder why they have returned, but continue my assault. I feel my wounds closing up as the strength fills me. I take a wing in my jaws and rip it from his body. He attempts to gash my throat, but I snap my jaws around his paw, cleaving it from his leg.

He turns, then, making now to flee, but this must end. I cannot have him alive, to come back and harm Arthur again. I catch him by the tails, flinging him back against the bluff with a crack. But I have never ended a spirit as powerful as he before, and I do not even know how it can be done. We both preyed on lesser spirits, consuming them was a simple way to end them. But consuming a spirit as dark as him could return me to the days of old, and I will never return to those days.

"Mystery!" My ears perk at the sound of Vivi's voice. "Get him over here, hurry!" I turn my head. Vivi is holding an aged book in her hands, and Lewis is blazing a pattern in the sands, dancing a six-inch deep line that goes back and forth and over and across and around.

Oh clever Vivi, I will never underestimate humans again. Lewis I owe you an apology…

I whirl around, snatching him up by the scruff of his neck as he tries to slink off. I sweep his severed wing and forepaw into the center of the pattern with my tails, no part must be left behind.

He sees the pattern, and understands, and writhes with a new desperation, slashing at me. I take the raking to my hide, hardly feeling it as I beat him against the stones again, crushing his bones as I hurl myself on top of him. If he built a body from my leg, he will suffer the full pain and injury of having one.

I drag his barely stirring form to the pattern, being very careful not to touch the lines myself, and hurl him to the center. The circle stretches yards across, and Lewis has just finished blazing the last of the intricate pattern in the sand. I leap back, stumbling away as far as I can while Vivi stands at the edge and screams words from the book. As he struggles to his feet, the lines burst into blue flames that rise to wind around his limbs and body, sinking past the flesh he constructed to the spirit itself. He screams, writhing and thrashing, but the flames spread, binding the spirit even as they consume the body he constructed to leave the cave.

I turn away. I do not want to see this, and Arthur…

I bolt for Arthur, skidding to a stop. I can see his soul is no longer in his body, his functions have ceased. Something inside me is breaking and crumbling apart.

Arthur.

Now that I am my full self, I can see the newly dead spirits, what I could not see for Lewis. Arthur looks so frightened, and fractured. His spirit flickers in and out of sight, like a glitch in one of his video games. He's staring down at his body like he's not sure what's happening.

Oh Arthur. I was not in time again.

No.

I refuse this ending. I refuse. I was a god in my day, and I chose destruction, but I must have some capacity for healing in me. It has to exist somewhere, and his spirit has not fled yet.

I curl myself around his tiny body, drawing him to my chest with a forepaw-How often has he curled himself around me, holding me close?—and leak my power into him. I do so with great care, for mortal flesh is so frail, but a drop at a time will not disintegrate him.

I see his wounds closing though his heart still fails to beat, the tissue in his lungs knitting back together and filling with air, just waiting to exhale and inhale again. I wait until his flesh is whole again before looking to his soul.

The soul stands there still, as if unsure. It flickers between images still, between a fearful Arthur and an Arthur falling to his death. He stares up at me, confusion and bewilderment across his features. I can see it all over his face, he cannot reconcile what he has heard with the Mystery he has known since childhood. And that is because they cannot be reconciled. They are not the same, but they are the same being.

I lower my head, cradling his body between my foreleg and my neck, and stare back at him. I say words no god would ever say, and even as I do I realize I was never a god. Merely a spirit drunk on its own power.

"Don't go Arthur." I whisper. "I need you here."

And in that moment, he vanishes. And I feel the body beneath me release its breath, and draw it again. The heart begins to beat, and the blood to flow properly.

And for the first time in my existence, I find a kitsune can shed tears.


	25. Wiser Still

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seems various and sundry explanations of the tails exist, but personally I like the one that connects wisdom to the number of tails.

When Arthur opened his eyes, it was not to a desert sky, but to his workshop. He was sitting at his desk, a half-finshed something-or-other in his hands. He had no idea what it was, because he couldn't remember working on anything. In fact, he was pretty sure a moment ago he had been dead.

Was this heaven? Even if it was his workshop, he was more than a little disappointed.

He heard a barking laugh behind him. "No, it is not heaven, but I wished to speak with you before you wake up."

He spun around in his chair. Mystery lay on the ground, full sized and leaning up against the far wall. He took up over half the room. There was something different about him, even in this form, but Arthur couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Before I wake up…So… We're in my mind?" Arthur glanced around.

"If that's what you'd like to call it. I thought this might be the most comfortable place to speak with you."

"So, I'm not dead?" Arthur hedged, needing confirmation.

"You died, but you are not dead." Mystery expelled a long breath. "That was very foolish of you."

"You're welcome." Arthur muttered, stung.

"I did not say it was not appreciated, only that it was foolish. You had no hope of surviving." He paused. "Why did you do that, Arthur?"

"What do you mean why?" Arthur's eyes narrowed. "You've always been there for me, and you're asking why I'm there for you?"

"I am asking you why you would do such a thing after discovering—"

In three steps Arthur crossed the room and slapped the end of Mystery's nose. The kitsune flinched, startled. "Your name is Mystery," he said firmly. "You've been rolling me around since I was a baby, keeping me out of trouble, tailing my every move, and watching me my whole life. You saved me from that thing in the cave the first time, you helped me get back on my feet, and this whole last couple of weeks you've done nothing but try and comfort me and protect me. So you're a giant fox beast from King Arthur's times? Fantastic. I've had weirder things happen to me this week. I mean, I already knew about the fox beast bit, but you know. Look," he pinched the bridge of his nose. "The point is, you're Mystery. And maybe now you'll talk more in ways I can understand instead of yapping at me when you're mad, but that's who you are." He looked up, scowling. "I don't know the creature that monster was talking about. Understand?"

Mystery stared at him for a long time, before lowering his head in an odd way. Shock jolted Arthur's system when he realized Mystery was bowing his head.

"I remember that look well." Mystery said quietly. "King Arthur would often wear that look when meting out a judgment among his knights and lords. And no one ever quarreled with him over them. Neither will I."

Arthur blinked, then sank to the floor, recalling that bit of information.

_Descended from King Arthur._

"Do I look like him?" Arthur peered up at Mystery, who cracked a smile.

"It's been many generations, so no. But you carry his manner sometimes, in unexpected moments." His eyes shone slightly. "You certainly behaved toward me as he did. Granted, every member of this line has taken care of me, but he more than most. He took me everywhere of his own accord. He spoke to me as if he knew I understood. He confided in me his troubles and fears and woes too. And he was never without a kind word or a friendly pat. Granted, it was indignity to be patted at the time, and I very nearly bit his hand off the first few times. I was not friendly for the first few weeks."

Arthur chuckled a little at that.

"But he never gave up. He took Merlin seriously, and treated me as if I was a member of his family." His mouth turned down slightly. "I supposed he needed such a confidant after his wife…" He sighed heavily. "Among many things I regret."

Arthur scooted over to Mystery, putting a hand up to his neck and stroking the fur carefully. "Welcome to the club, bud. I think that's going around right now."

Mystery lowered his head, resting it on the ground beside Arthur. His eye, half the size of a man's face, fixed on Arthur. "I am no longer bound." He said softly. "Merlin once told me that I would be bound to this line, and unable to regain my form unless it was called on by my masters, or if I judged them to be in danger. That the majority of my strength would be sealed away until a descendant of the line risked his life for mine. That is what you did today, Arthur. And you have broken the seal on me."

Arthur's stomach sank. Did that mean Mystery was leaving?

"Only if you want me to." Mystery eyed him steadily. "I would stay, Arthur. I have been guarding this line for many generations by force, but I would willingly continue for as long as you will have me, if you will."

Arthur gaped at him. "…IF?" He practically shouted. "If? If he asks me, IF? You…" He pushed up to his feet and toppled forward onto Mystery, wrapping his arms around the giant neck. " _If_ , you big puffball."

He felt a forepaw wrap around him gingerly. "You've been hanging around Vivi too much." The kitsune teased. He tensed slightly. "What will you tell them?"

Arthur buried his face in Mystery's fur. It smelled like sweat and earth. "I'll tell them you were bound to protect King Arthur's line, that I'm a descendent, and that you were freed today. That's all they need to know. However," He popped his head up. "I still wanna know if you're gonna actually talk to me from now on, the yapping is a little obnoxious."

Mystery's lips pulled back in a toothy grin. "It has been too long since I have seen you in a truly good mood like this. It makes me happy. As of this moment I am unsure of my limits in that form now that I am unbound. Perhaps we will find out together, the four of us." His tails lifted in a slight wag.

"Oh!" Arthur stared. "That's what's different… seven."

Startled, Mystery glanced back, raising his tails. "What do you know," he murmured, examining his newest tail, "I seem to have learned something important today."


	26. In The Week After

"Arthur, she hasn't been by in a week."

"I know Lew."

"Why hasn't she been by in a week?"

"She's working things out, Lew."

"According to you she didn't leave you alone hardly at all even though she had things to work out."

"Yeah, cause she was w-worried I was going to waste away. Now that I'm fine she's dealing with the backlog. You've been focused on k-killing me for a year, you've probably forgotten a few things." Arthur tightened a screw carefully. "Like how Vivi needs time to sort things out when she gets big news, or something major happens. These last couple weeks probably turned her upside down. Sh-she'll be around soon."

He could feel Lewis' eyes on the back of his head, and sighed. He'd already had it out with Vivi over Skype while Lewis was out and about on his not-so-secret-secret-mission. Of course it didn't feel good what she had to say, and he wasn't sure he'd ever find someone else of Vivi's caliber, but he understood. For all that, he was grateful she wasn't ditching him as a friend after everything that had happened.

But that didn't mean Lewis knew. If Vivi's texts were any indication though, he'd know soon enough. She was on her way to pull together "a Christmas dinner of epic proportions!"

Arthur set the device down and opened a desk drawer, removing a small green box. He turned, tossing it at the skeleton's head. "Think fast!"

Lewis caught it, curious.

"Merry Christmas F-flame-brain."

Lewis shot him an exasperated look, unhappy with the new nickname, and opened up the box. He blinked, pulling out a lush sprig of mistletoe. "Uhhh, Arthur?"

Arthur threw a screw, pinging it off the side of Lewis' skull. "No, dummy, not f-for me."

Lewis inspected the sprig again. "Oh." His eyes widened. "Oh." He looked up again, slowly replacing it in the box.

"Yeah. Might want to plant it over the main doorway in the next five minutes or so. I think she's on her wa-ay. Think she got your flowers?" Arthur grinned. He'd floated Lewis a loan to buy Vivi several rounds of Forget-me-nots, which the specter had been dispensing a small bunch at a time each morning and evening on her welcome mat.

"They were gone every time I went over, so I guess so. I'll be back." He headed out of the workshop toward the front door.

Arthur picked up the device, turning around to face the other supernatural entity in the room. "Okay bud, ready to give it a try?"

Mystery barked, scuttling over. Arthur picked him up, setting him on the workdesk. "K stand still, it's g-gonna hurt some." He paused. "A lot. I'm s-sorry." The dog turned his head, licking Arthur's hand. "K, here goes." He picked up the prosthetic, holding it against the stub of Mystery's hind leg, and pressed a button. The dog winced, growling lowly as wires sprang out of the device, piercing skin, locking onto bone, and fusing into his nervous system.

"Hey, it's over." Arthur scratched behind his ears. "Not so bad, you're tough. Give it a try? Go slow at first."

Mystery nodded, and stepped forward slowly, the mechanical leg matching his pace perfectly. He winced with each step, glancing questioningly at Arthur.

"No, won't always be like that. It'll take aw-while, but the pain will go away. Until then I can see about some prescription painkillers, although maybe you'll have to tell me what strength since major tranqs didn't even f-faze you. Now," he set Mystery down. "S-see if the other part works."

Mystery limped over to the other side of the room, then stretched out, growing to full size. He stood there a moment, staring at the tiny prosthetic attached to his back limb, and back to Arthur.

Arthur sighed. "C-calibration issues. Don't worry, I'll get it working to—" He was cut off as the limb expanded down and out, forming into a robotic limb fit for the now much larger Mystery. "Huh, okay, so timing needs work, but I'd say f-first prototype is a success."

A giant tongue swiped over the top of his head, knocking him out of his seat. "You're welcome." He grinned. Pausing, he asked hesitantly, "And you're sure that—"

"Yes. I am sure." Mystery sat himself down. "I have been back out to the desert five or six times. I am as anxious as you are to be sure we never see him again. All that is left is a circle of scorched black sand. I roamed the whole desert these last several evenings, searched the rubble of the cavern, and studied the inscriptions in the circle. By all accounts, the demon that took you will never return. Its body burned, and its spirit irreparably scattered. It would be the same as if someone tore your body apart cell by cell and dispersed them all over the earth. Whatever Vivi did, it was very clever. I question how she came by such a book though."

"Yeah well you can ask her about it sometime. I'm sure she'll be happy to tell you."

Mystery didn't look to certain. His ears pricked up and he peered out the doorway. "I believe she is here." As Arthur stood, Mystery shrank back down and limped out into the hall. Arthur joined him.

Lewis hovered an inch off the floor next to the door, looking nervous.

"Lew!" Arthur called. "Still bone-faced!"

"Right!" Lewis took a deep breath, focusing his energy to bring out his human appearance. "How do I look?"

Arthur flashed him a thumbs up as a thunk hit the door.

"Guys, arms full! Little help!" Came a muffled call through the door.

Arthur darted forward, opening the door. He could hardly see Vivi past the packages and shopping bags in her arms. He grabbed most of them from her. "I got this." He stepped back, getting out of Lewis' way.

"Thanks, it's freezing outs—" She paused, one leg across the threshold, as Lewis put a hand out to stop her and pointed up. Her eyes traveled up to the sprig of mistletoe pinned to the doorway, and back down to Lewis, digging the tip of his spotless shoe into the floor nervously. A smile spread across her face, as she reached up, gently pulling him forward by the collar, and pressed her lips to his.

Arthur's chest tugged with a warm, bittersweet twinge. He dropped off the presents under the tree, then moved off into the kitchen to unload the food. He set it out on the counter, taking his time and letting the two of them have a few seconds. However, curiosity got the better of him after a couple minutes and he peered around the corner. Lewis had scooped Vivi up and wrapped her in his arms, floating in the middle of the living room. She had her head on his shoulder and her arms around his neck, and a blissful smile on her face.

Rolling his eyes, Arthur walked past them to shut the door. "Get a room, will y-ya?" He grinned.

"Oh don't be such a wet lint-brush." Vivi stuck her tongue out at him, but slid down as Lewis let go. "Looks like you're doing better Squire, walking around and all."

"S-still Squire, huh? No upgrade to Knight or King yet?" Arthur locked his door.

"I've been calling you Squire since 9th grade, I don't think I can shake it now. Even if you did earn your upgrade." Vivi smirked at him. "And you really did, by the way."

Arthur shrugged, returning to her first question. "Stairs are still hard, Lew helps when I c-can't do them. Less stuttering. Still nightmares though."

"How's this going?" She walked over, putting a hand on his chest.

"Mystery s-says it'll be bleeding a long time. I gotta watch m-my back, but that's what he's for. Or so he says."

"Me too." Lewis' hand squeezed Arthur's shoulder. "Needed a new excuse to stick around anyway."

"That reminds me," Arthur craned his neck to see Mystery stretched out to full size again, spilling out from the hallway, his chin on his forepaws, "Arthur, I would be careful with Lewis' heart if I were you."

Startled, Arthur reached into his pocket, pulling it out.

"Arthur, seriously, you need to change clothes more often." Lewis shuddered. "Three days, same pants?"

"What? I put them through the wash." Arthur grinned.

"Not with the locket you'd better not have!" Lewis lunged for him.

Arthur dodged, laughing. "No Lew, just k-kidding. I'll wash 'em tonight. But why'd you put this in my pocket anyway? No matter what pants I'm w-wearing this ends up in there."

Lewis scratched his head. "When I took you over, I had to put it somewhere. It's the only thing really left, my anchor, so…"

"Shouldn't V-Vivi hold onto this?" Arthur held it up. "Y'know…"

Lewis' hair glowed with embarrassment. "Ah. Maybe not. The best idea. I'm not rooming with her. That would be awkward." Vivi blushed a little.

"Besides that, his anchor is cracked." Mystery indicated the flaws down the front of the locket. "That needs to not get worse. It would be good if you both stayed near me, where I can keep an eye on you."

"Well enough of this, I need to get things going." Vivi rolled up her sleeves, heading for Arthur's kitchen. "We're all together for the first time in a year. We defeated a demon. Mystery's on four paws again, and Arthur's standing. This is going to be a meal nobody in this house will forget."

"That includes you, Lew." Arthur grinned. "Part two of your present." At Lewis' confused stare, Arthur spread his arms slightly, gesturing at his chest. "You haven't had Vivi's cooking in a year, y-you've been missing out."

Lewis blinked, understanding. "Are you sure?"

"I trust you L-Lew." Arthur said simply. "You won't hurt me."

Gingerly, Lewis approached Arthur, vanishing as he stepped inside. They opened their eyes, inhaling deeply as a fantastic scent began wafting from the kitchen. Memories not his own floated through his mind of evening meals cooked by Vivi. Lunches stuffed in his locker Senior year when he kept coming without any. Homemade cookies in his mailbox on his birthdays. Arthur found his eyes watering with Lewis' emotions at the scent of Christmas dinner cooking.

"We'll be okay Lew." Arthur gripped his own shoulder tightly. "This is super weird all around, but we'll get through it, the four of us all toge-ether."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, this has been fantastic. You've been so warm and welcoming and wonderful, thank you so much. I'm pretty sure this story has a sequel. I have to turn my attention to a couple other projects, but in the meantime I'll start brewing on what the sequel can do. The characters belong to Mysteryben and Artsy, whom I would like to thank so much because in four and a half minutes, they somehow managed to spawn an entire fandom because of the insane amount of detail in their art, design, and writing. That is talent, friends. That is talent and effort. I bid you goodnight, and Merry Christmas. (Sequel is called Worse Than Death, and I will upload when I have time)


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